P.O. Box 7857
Madison, WI 53707-7857
BRAD D. SCHIMEL
ATTORNEY GENERAL
NEWS RELEASE
December 11, 2015 Contact: Anne E. Schwartz 608-266-6686
HUMAN TRAFFICKING TASK FORCE BEGINS WORK
It’s a task force that will be a force - and not a “task force” in name only.
The Wisconsin Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force held its first meeting yesterday with 37 members from public and private organizations sharing their experiences of the sexual exploitation of young people and their efforts to eradicate this modern day slavery. Victim advocates, as well as the results of investigations nationwide, have identified Wisconsin as a hub of human trafficking.
The task force is co-chaired by Attorney General Brad Schimel and Department of Children and Families (DCF) Secretary Eloise Anderson. They concluded the meeting with a challenge.
“We challenged everyone in the room to make this a true working group – one that works to improve training, law enforcement, prevention, awareness, advocacy, resources for victims seeking help, sensible legislation, counseling and other direct services to survivors, housing for survivors, and aftercare,” AG Schimel said. “We have to protect our children and what we saw in the room was a group of people who are willing to work hard and to show progress.”
It was a gathering of groups who each have worked hard in their communities to fight human trafficking. Now they are working together as a force against human trafficking – a crime that also has powerful links to drug and violent crime. They share a common goal – to arrest and lock up the traffickers, free the victims and get them help and prevent the next person from becoming a victim.
The cases are heartbreaking. Just a few weeks ago, a 15-year-old girl was rescued from the dangerous lifestyle of sex trafficking by DOJ-Division of Criminal Investigation agents. Undercover officers found her information posted on an internet site under “escort.” She had been reported missing since late October. Sadly, it is one of many stories.
“Every time we get a glimpse of this crime, we are alarmed with what we see,” AG Schimel said. “We ask ourselves, ‘How can this be happening?’ We have an amazing multi-disciplinary group from all across this state. If anyone can accomplish something, it is this group.”
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Human Trafficking Task Force
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Human Trafficking exists in small and large cities, towns and villages, both urban and suburban - places that might not be top of mind. For example, Truckers Against Trafficking is an organization that has been building a powerful network nationwide to expose this criminal activity. Municipalities with truck stops or clusters of inexpensive motels can be havens for human trafficking. It exists where there is demand, and the group plans to address ways to more effectively hold accountable those who are creating the demand.
The Task Force is working with existing local and regional human trafficking workgroups and task forces to better coordinate prevention, training, data collection and service delivery efforts. Through enhanced planning, resources and communication, the state-level Human Trafficking Task Force will offer additional support to existing efforts, increase public awareness of the issue, create consistent statewide practices and expand both residential and community-based services throughout Wisconsin. The Task Force will oversee five work groups in the following areas: Training; Identification and Screening; Prevention and Public Awareness; Placement and Services; and Data. The work groups are composed of task force members and other stakeholders with relevant experience.
AG Schimel closed out the meeting with the following remarks:
“It is confession time. How many of you roll your eyes just a little bit when you hear that the government is creating a task force? So often task forces are created so that someone can say they are doing something, but the task force never does anything more than schedule some meetings.
“We heard from many eloquent and passionate advocates today and there are many more in the room who did not have a chance to talk simply because there was not enough time at this first meeting. I challenge you to hold this task force’s feet to the fire and demand that we do something.
“There is so much we know we need to do to prevent the spread of this scourge and to turn victims into survivors. If we do our work well, we can make our social services and criminal justice systems friendly and more welcoming places for victims. Until they truly believe they can count on us to really help, they will not come forward.”
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