Minnesota's Invisible Industry

Since Rachel and I began our blog series on human trafficking in Minnesota, we've received some inquiries into why JRLC is focusing on human trafficking: Why now, for example? Aren't there "bigger issues" afflicting the people of Minnesota? And is this even a problem in Minnesota?

These kinds of questions highlight the invisible quality that sex trafficking takes on, and perhaps even more so in places like Minnesota. So I thought it might be helpful to put some hard numbers in front of our readers, and provide some resources, reports, and studies specific to Minnesota that interested persons can read for themselves. 

According to the Schapiro Group, a research firm hired by the Women's Funding Network to study the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) in Minnesota, data suggests that each month 102 girls (under age 18) are commercially sexually exploited in Minnesota.

While somewhat crass, it can sometimes be helpful to compare CSEC incidence to other social problems in Minnesota for an improved sense of scope of the issue.* For example, more adolescent girls are commercially sexually exploited in one month in Minnesota than...

• ...there are teen girls who died by suicide, homicide, and accidents combined in one year (29)
• ...there are women who died from complications due to AIDS in one year (11)
• ...there are female infants who died from SIDS in one year (6)
• ...there are women of all ages murdered in one year (37)

While the full report is not yet published, stay tuned to this blog and our Facebook page, and we will post the report when we receive the full copy. In the meantime, the following are some excellent resources we've compiled for advocates to educate themselves on the topic:

• Human Trafficking in Minnesota, a report to the Minnesota Legislature, 2008
• Sex Trafficking Needs Assessment for the State of Minnesota, the Advocates for Human Rights, 2008
• Shattered Hearts: the Commercial and Sexual Exploitation of American Indian Women and Girls in Minnesota, 2009
• Status of Women and Girls in Minnesota, Humphrey Institute, 2010

Alison Killeen
Statewide Organizer 

*All comparison data are from the Minnesota Department of Health, Center for Health Statistics, 2007.