Sex-trafficking awareness advances at UWO

Indigo Holmes

In efforts to raise sex-trafficking awareness among students at the University of Wisconsin

Oshkosh, an anti-trafficking expert and advocate was brought in as a campus guest speaker to
explain the myths and realities of the sex industry.

The Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment​ d​ efines sex trafficking as, “The
recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a
commercial sex act.”

However, UWO students such as Julia Krautkramer are unfamiliar with what sex trafficking
actually entails. Krautkramer said that her level of familiarity is, “Like, medium-ish. A five on a
1-10 scale.”

According to a survey targeted toward young adults, most people believe definitions of sex
trafficking that do not properly align with how exactly it is defined.

For example, definitions such as “kidnapping a person” and “bad things happening” were
common responses.

The survey showed that not only is there a lack of awareness about the topic overall, but there is
also a lack of awareness about the efforts being made to stop sex trafficking.

In response to the question, “Has anyone has ever educated you on any resources for runaway or
homeless men and women,” UWO student Sarah Wallace said, “Not really, no. Obviously there
are homeless shelters, but I don’t know of anything specific for people like that.”

In order to increase knowledge and awareness of the sex trafficking industry, anti-trafficking
advocate Dena Williams from Reach Counseling gave a presentation on UWO’s campus.

“Human trafficking is the second most profitable industry in the world, right behind drugs, but
the two often go hand-in-hand,” Williams said.

According to Williams, trafficking victims can earn anywhere between $300 and $2000 each on
average, but their earnings go straight to their exploiters.

“Money that goes through [the victims’] hands – they never see a penny,” Williams said.

Williams further explained the presence of sex trafficking in the state of Wisconsin and how
Wisconsin has many events such as Packer games, Brewer games, Summerfest and Country
USA that are all profitable for sex traffickers.

“Milwaukee is one of the country’s most popular hubs of human trafficking, and Interstate 94 is
an essential highway for Wisconsin and traffickers,” Williams said.
Williams then said that there are efforts being made at both the state and federal levels to end sex
trafficking.

“In 2015, Milwaukee ranked third for the most people rescued by the FBI from commercial sex
exploitation,” Williams said. Denver and Detroit were ranked first and second respectively.

Despite Milwaukee’s ranking, though, Williams said that Wisconsin has low prosecution rates
for sex traffickers.

“Sex trafficking is a prevalent issue in Wisconsin, and people should be more aware of their
surroundings in social situations and online,” Krautkramer, one of the UWO students, said.