Thanks for your piece on human trafficking in Maryland and your call on the General Assembly to do more to fight it ("Modern-day slavery," June 6).
Yet punitive measures alone are not enough. We must also do more in the areas of awareness, prevention and victim care.
We host the Maryland Rescue & Restore Coalition, a state-wide initiative against human trafficking. Every week we go into schools, churches and businesses to educate people about human trafficking, and we are amazed at what our children, in particular, don't know about this crime and how to protect themselves from it.
It's a mistake to assume young people know how to recognize the danger posed by traffickers and take appropriate action, especially online. Medical institutions, law enforcement, direct services providers, the hospitality industry and others must also incorporate anti-trafficking training into their professional development programs.
Finally, we need to look critically at the laws that inhibit the proper handling of trafficking victims and their special needs, especially when the victims are minors.
Jeanne Allert, Baltimore
The writer is executive director of the Samaritan Women, a Baltimore-based group that provides transitional housing for victims of human trafficking.