The Issue
International Justice Mission estimates that there are still over 40 Million slaves in the world. That injustice is prevalent in the Greater Milwaukee region, known as a "mecca for sex trafficking" and throughout Wisconsin:
As Milwaukee Detective Dawn Jones states, these numbers are just scratching the surface of the issue Milwaukee and Wisconsin faces.
- There has been a human trafficking case in every county in Wisconsin.
- 340 individuals (25 and under) were confirmed or believed to be victims of sex trafficking in Milwaukee between 2013-2016
- From 2010-2014 law enforcement identified 102 child sex trafficking victims.
As Milwaukee Detective Dawn Jones states, these numbers are just scratching the surface of the issue Milwaukee and Wisconsin faces.
According to the Homeland Security, human trafficking is modern-day slavery and involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act.
Every year, millions of men, women, and children are trafficked in countries around the world, including the United States. It is estimated that human trafficking generates many billions of dollars of profit per year, second only to drug trafficking as the most profitable form of transnational crime.
Human trafficking is a hidden crime as victims rarely come forward to seek help because of language barriers, fear of the traffickers, and/or fear of law enforcement.
Traffickers use force, fraud, or coercion to lure their victims and force them into labor or commercial sexual exploitation. They look for people who are susceptible for a variety of reasons, including psychological or emotional vulnerability, economic hardship, lack of a social safety net, natural disasters, or political instability. The trauma caused by the traffickers can be so great that many may not identify themselves as victims or ask for help, even in highly public settings.
