Canton attorney honored by national victims' assistance organization

CANTON − For more than a decade, attorney Cortney Morgan has worked to eradicate the scourge and threat of human trafficking and sex trafficking, which has taken root in every community.

Because of her dedication in helping those who are victimized by one of the world's fastest-growing crimes, Morgan's work has been recognized by NOVA, the National Organization for Victim Assistance, with the Morton Bard Allied Professional Award.

Morgan, the founder of the nonprofit No More Trafficking, was nominated by Suzanne Lewis-Johnson, a former FBI agent and founder of Uncaged Canaries.

"I wanted people to understand that they have this amazing, brilliant woman in their community," Lewis-Johnson said. "She's served selflessly for years, and I wanted them to see she's been a voice in the community for others."

NOVA is the oldest national victim-assistance organization of its type in the U. S. and is a leader in victim advocacy, education, and credentialing and training. The organization also assists victims of crime and crisis by connecting them with services and resources. NOVA also promotes public policy initiatives to protect the rights of crime victims.

What motivates Cortney Morgan?

A graduate of Georgetown University's Law Center, Morgan said she became aware of the problem while working for the U.S. Department of Labor which offers programs for people who have been trafficked overseas, but she noticed that comparatively little was available for victims being trafficked inside the U.S.

After launching her own law firm, she began offering her services to victims pro bono and volunteering with organizations that were fighting human trafficking.

She also advises family courts, and makes recommendations for children’s services departments, child advocate organizations, school, and other organizations, as well as championing protocols and processes to improve the level of service for victims.

"One of the challenges in the trafficking arena is, there are a lot of people who are passionate and driven, but maybe don't have the expertise and the knowledge they need," Lewis-Johnson said. "And so, that's what NOVA is. They are a group that has set standards — not exclusively for trafficking — but for victim advocacy, and how we're providing services, and ethics. This particular award was for allies, those who come alongside in the professional arena, and I thought 'That is Cortney Morgan, no question.'"

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Morgan said human/sex trafficking often is hidden in plain sight because it doesn't fit the stereotype.

"Everybody still thinks it's the white panel van and that you're going to get pushed into it," she said. "Instead of understanding that these are our neighbors' kids and kids in our family and kids we see at school and in our medical practices, the consumers of these services are people in our families and at our churches."

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These day, it's also more likely to occur online, with Lewis-Johnson saying that for predators, social media is akin to "online shopping."

Lewis-Johnson said some people aren't even aware they're being trafficked. Forced labor, for example, is a form of trafficking that most often targets immigrants lured by promises of good jobs.

While at the Department of Labor, Morgan wrote a nationally-recognized paper calling for state legislatures to create harsher penalties for people who purchase commercial sex from a child.

"It's so permeated our society because our society has accepted certain ways of doing business, of mistreating and manipulating people," she said. "It's using somebody for your own benefit to achieve a prescribed outcome."

Morgan and Lewis-Johnson said anti-trafficking laws exist to address extreme forms of the crime, but a more comprehensive plan is needed.

Who are the sex traffickers?

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 92% of trafficking offenders are men. Sixty-six percent are white, 18% are Black, and 17% are Latino. Ninety-five percent are American.

"I feel like everybody that's working on it is making assumptions about what other people are doing, and there's just a little bit of a disconnect, and what we're hoping to do is help with the alignment," Lewis-Johnson said.

Morgan agrees.

"We have all the pieces, but none of us can do it alone," she said. "A couple of years ago at church, there was a lecture about sexuality and morality, and I was super-upset about it because I was like, 'Why are you picking on a subset of people instead of talking to all the people in the congregation that are buying sex and thinking that that's OK?'"

In response, Morgan said she created a Power Point program and gave it to her church leadership.

"I think they took it to heart because they did call and talk, which is important because I think that sometimes people don't think about the fact that there is trafficking," she said.

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Because of its highway system, Ohio is ranked as one of the top 10 states for human/sex trafficking. In recent years, the state has created harsher penalties for the crime, but Morgan and Lewis-Johnson say more can be done, particularly when it comes to screening at-risk children.

"We do have a 'Safe Harbor' statute for minors that they can go into if they're charged with a crime that relates to their trafficking, and they can go into diversion, which is great," Morgan said. "There are some legislative options for adults, but not enough."

Lewis-Johnson said that if a person thinks something seems off-kilter, they should contact authorities.

"You can't make a mistake in making a call," she said.

Morgan said she feels called to do the work she is doing to combat trafficking.

"What trafficking is is the worst of all the worst things coming together to create the worst thing," she said.

Reach Charita at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com.

On Twitter: @cgoshayREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Attorney Cortney Morgan receives Morton Bard Allied Professional