Local women to provide training to stop human trafficking in Ottumwa

OTTUMWA, Iowa (KYOU) - According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, in 2019 11,500 human trafficking cases were reported in the united states.

98 of those cases were from the state of Iowa.

Two women out of Ottumwa are making it their mission to educate the public on how to decrease these numbers in the area by providing a three-part series on human traffic training.

Cara Galloway, who is South East Iowa’s Court Appointed Special Advocate Coordinator, says it isn’t what you see in movies.

“When it comes to trafficking a lot of people think of that movie taken. That’s not what we usually see in human trafficking so this is to bring more awareness on how to mitigate those risks with their children.”

Megan Logan, who is the Children’s Care Coordinator for South Central Behavioral Health Region.

“We’re steering it towards youth but also adults at the same time because it could happen to anybody.”

Both event coordinators say last month was part one of the series and focused on training professionals on what to look for.

Part 2 will be for the community.

Lieutenant Jason Bell of the Ottumwa Police Department will be there and says he’ll be sharing what the department has dealt with on a local level.

“We’re also going to discuss vulnerabilities of people who are victims of human trafficking both from a labor perspective and a sex trafficking perspective.”

This event is free to the public and will take place on Thursday, August 12th at the Bridgeview Center from 6 pm to 8 pm.

If you’re witnessing what you believe to be human trafficking behavior Lieutenant Bell says to call the police department right away.

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