Human trafficking bills include funding for victims, mandatory prison for soliciting prostitutes

 

MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A bipartisan group of state lawmakers on Wednesday introduced a package of bills aimed at human trafficking. The first order of businesses, they said, was figuring out just how often people are being trafficked in Wisconsin.

Beyond that, the recommended policy changes include dedicated funding for victims of sex trafficking and a mandatory minimum prison sentence for people convicted of soliciting a prostitute.

State Rep. Jerry O'Connor (R-Fond du Lac), who co-chaired a task force on the subject with State Rep. Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire), said in an interview Wednesday one of the biggest hurdles in curbing trafficking is no one in Wisconsin seems to have any idea how widespread the problem is on a statewide level.

"We have no data that's shared between cities, counties and the state," O'Connor said. "So, when you ask, 'where's the sex trafficking taking place?' There's not a central location to go find that."

The most recent report the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) has posted on human trafficking is from 2020. That report was a follow-up to a more extensive review done in 2019. 

Based on the responses provided by law enforcement agencies across the state, the report found a total of 98 sex trafficking victims in 2019. 

O'Connor said everyone involved, from investigators to victim advocates, knows that number is grossly short of the actual amount. The report itself even noted, "Quantifying law enforcement involvement with human trafficking incidents remains a challenge because identification and data entry practices differ across the state."

"[The actual number of trafficking victims is] multiple times greater than what we have in a database for the state of Wisconsin," O'Connor said.

One of the bills unveiled Wednesday would create a new human trafficking council. It'd be composed of the secretaries of the state Department of Children and Families, Public Education and Transportation. They would join a district attorney, a chief of police, two sheriffs and four representatives of victim advocacy groups.

The council would be tasked with gathering statewide data on trafficking activity and arrests. Among the other bills are proposals to do the following:

• Award $2.5 million in grants to victim "support services" during each two-year budget cycle. The aid would be for services such as housing and substance abuse treatment for survivors of trafficking
• Require posters featuring the National Human Trafficking Hotline number to be placed in public businesses, such as bars, gas stations and salons
• Allow victims of child sex trafficking to bring a civil lawsuit against their perpetrators until the victim turns 35-years-old
• Set a mandatory minimum prison sentence for defendants convicted of soliciting a prostitute

For the solicitation sentences, a first offense would bring a minimum of six months in prison. Those convicted could complete an educational program and reduce their sentence to three months of confinement.

"If you are missing for three months from your family, from your friends and from your workplace, that's going to be pretty embarrassing to have to explain what you were doing and why you're not around," O'Connor said.

The minimum punishment for a second offense is one year in prison, and convictions for a third offense would carry a minimum sentence of two years' confinement.

Some advocates say the bills are helpful but do not go far enough.

Jay Reinke, policy director of the Human Trafficking Task Force of Greater Milwaukee, said he was disappointed the package did not include "safe harbor" legislation. Such laws ban the arrest or detention of underage people suspected of participating in prostitution and instead referring them to social services. 

The next step for the bills that were proposed will be public hearings, which will begin on the Assembly side since the task force was convened by Speaker Robin Vos (R-Burlington). 

There's a short timeline for the bills, since the Legislature in recent years has wrapped up its business around March or April in even-numbered years so lawmakers can focus on campaigning. 

January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month, and the lights on the Hoan Bridge will turn blue Thursday night to remember victims and survivors of trafficking.