Kentucky human trafficking

Human trafficking victims are often too intimidated to coopreate, Peter Smith of the Louisville Courier-Journal reported.

Kentucky lawmakers passed tough new penalties in 2007, but so much is required of the victim that there have apparently been no prosecutions.

Attorney Cori Hash, director of the Maxwell Street Legal Clinic in Lexington, said she has dealt with four cases of human trafficking in recent years, but none have gone to trial. "We have some great laws on the books," she said. But there are "realistic limitations on using those laws when working with a victim."

Most victims are threatened with violence against themselves or their families, Hash said. Many come from foreign countries and may not trust the American justice system -- or fear that their relatives back home could suffer retribution. Others simply have to move away to find work and can't cooperate with prosecutors.

"Human trafficking laws ask a lot of the victims," she said. "They require pretty intensive cooperation and lots of evidence."

The Ursuline Sisters held a seminar on the problem recently:

Learn more about the issue worldwide from the United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking.