MILWAUKEE – As the issue of human trafficking remains ever-present, officers in the Milwaukee area are working with survivors and community leaders to learn better ways to address it.
In a training organized by the Convergence Resource Center, a non-profit focused on trauma survivors, sex exploitation expert Dr. Stephany Powell encouraged officers to take a victim centered approach.
“They need to really understand that although they see them in prostitution, they’re not always all there by choice,” Powell said. “Therefore, when working these investigations, it’s very important to understand the victims and have that patience which comes with understanding.”
Powell serves as the Director of Law Enforcement Training and Survivor Services at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
She was invited to Convergence’s 9th annual conference, The Epidemic and The Game, to help law enforcement work with survivors, social workers, educators, and others to brainstorm solutions to human trafficking.
Convergence Executive Director and Co-founder Dr. Debbie Lassiter said they chose to focus on human trafficking with law enforcement because how pervasive the issue can be.
“It’s kind of like an octopus it has so many arms and legs,” Lassiter said. “No one agency or organization can handle this issue alone. We must work together.”
She said no community is exempt and human trafficking often doesn’t look like the stereotype. She explained that many of the survivors her non-profit has worked with were trafficked by a classmate in high school or family member.
In 2021, according to data from the National Human Trafficking Hotline, 95 human trafficking cases with 166 victims were identified in Wisconsin alone. 23 of those cases involved children.
“It’s very important for the community and law enforcement to work together for the sake of the survivors as well as the rest of the community,” she said.
Lassiter also said a part of helping victims get out of human trafficking will mean offering more support, particular around housing.
For Powell the solution also means law enforcement will need to work on building the kind of trust that will keep victims involved through the whole court process and ultimately lead to convictions.
“If people were not buying other people, we wouldn’t have to be having this conversation," she said. “Law enforcement needs to also change their direction and instead of putting the prostituting in jail, go after the buyers."
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