Williamson
Dr. Celia Williamson, UT professor of social work and activist for victims of human trafficking, recently was inducted into the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame for her achievements in community service.
Since 2006, Williamson has developed both the Lucas County Prostitution Roundtable and the Lucas County Human Trafficking Coalition. The programs educate the Toledo community on the severity of human trafficking and ensure protocol and procedures are being created for handling trafficking victims.
Williamson has dedicated more than 15 years toward learning, researching and developing response to helping victims of human trafficking.
In 1993, she created a local nonprofit organization, Second Chance, which works with prostituted and trafficked girls and women. She also was an active force in securing an FBI task force in Lucas County to address the rescue of children from the sex trade in Toledo.
For the past six years, Williamson has organized a national conference on prostitution, sex work and commercial sex industry. The conference is held on UT’s Main Campus and brings together researchers and practitioners in an effort to lay the groundwork for future collaborative research, advocacy and program development. The conference also educates social service, health-care and criminal justice professionals about the needs and risks of women involved in commercial sex work.
The Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame was established in 1978 to provide public recognition for the contributions women have made to the growth and progress of their state, their nation and their world.
