Thursday, March 28, 2024

Letter: Ingham County Prosecutor sex crimes highlight trafficking issues

March 21, 2016

I am a current masters of social work student at MSU and I am writing in response to the recent news about Ingham County Prosecutor, Stuart Dunnings III, being hauled off in handcuffs on human trafficking charges earlier this week. While it is devastating to hear of these findings, I hope this sends an eye-opening message to our community. Human trafficking is happening right here in our own backyard. We can no longer turn a blind eye to the issue or claim ignorance to the facts. Human trafficking can include either forced labor and/or sex corrosion. Dunnings was the elected prosecutor for the past 19 years and a trusted lawyer for many years. This case is a clear abuse of power. Many trafficking victims are vulnerable and coerced by people of power. These vulnerable populations can include, but are not limited to: refugees, undocumented immigrants, minors, minorities and underprivileged populations. These situations are never easy for victims to speak up or get help. A way that someone of power can keep their grips on the victims is by threatening them in some way. For example, if a victim is an undocumented refugee, the pimp can threaten to turn them in to have them deported. It is time that we as a community begin to learn more about the signs of human trafficking so that we can begin to help the victims surrounding us. Our campus has several resources to better educate students and community members on this important issue. Please consider visiting the Michigan Human Trafficking Task Force website at http://cj.msu.edu/programs/human-trafficking/. If you suspect someone is being trafficked, please call this 24/7 confidential trafficking tip line at 1-888-373-788. Who will help trafficking victims to make our community a safer place? Spartans Will.


Julia Sabo is a social work graduate student. She can be reached at sabojul1@msu.edu.

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