PORTSMOUTH, Ohio — The Portsmouth City Health Department is urging residents to become a “safe person” for children in their lives as part of a regional campaign aimed at preventing human trafficking before it starts.
The health department shared the Eyes Up Appalachia initiative’s “Be a Safe Person” campaign this month, directing residents to eyesupappalachia.org/safeperson for guidance on protecting children from exploitation. Sexual abuse in childhood is one of the strongest risk factors for later trafficking, particularly abuse involving a family member, the health department said in its post.
Eyes Up Appalachia is an anti-human-trafficking initiative housed under the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio, focused specifically on trafficking’s toll across the Appalachian region of the state. The organization partners with the Ohio Network of Children’s Advocacy Centers to study how often trafficking occurs in Appalachian Ohio and to identify the warning signs that precede it. Eyes Up Appalachia does not provide direct services to trafficking survivors; instead, it develops training materials and connects residents to outside resources such as the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and local children’s advocacy centers.
The Be a Safe Person campaign grew out of interviews with trafficking survivors, many of whom told researchers they might have escaped exploitation sooner if they had a trusted adult — a parent, coach, teacher or other mentor — who would listen to them, believe them and connect them with help, according to the initiative. The campaign asks community members to learn to recognize warning signs of exploitation, understand how predators build trust with children, know how to report suspected abuse and stay aware of the risks children face online.
The Portsmouth City Health Department, headquartered at 605 Washington St., is the city’s public health agency. It runs divisions covering nursing services, environmental health, vital statistics, air quality, emergency preparedness and health promotion, and it operates a primary care clinic that offers immunizations and physicals at reduced rates for low-income patients.
Anyone with information about suspected child abuse or trafficking is encouraged to contact local law enforcement or the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Portsmouth City Health Department.
