The Trafficking crisis:

*89% of women state that they want to leave prostitution, but do you know other options for survival

*Research shows that 84% of women in prostitution are under third-party control or pimped or trafficked  

84% of those prostituted report current or past homelessness

75% of prostitutes have been homeless at some point in their lives.[1]

50,000 people are prostituted in the city of Chicago at any given time, almost all of who are homeless

95-99 percent of those prostituted have chemical dependency issues

66% of those who prostitute and suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder

Few women seek out or choose to be in prostitution and are desperate to leave it. A 2003 scientific study in the Journal of Trauma Practice found that 89% of women in prostitution want to escape prostitution, but I have no other options for survival”.[2]

Human trafficking occurs in every current county in Wisconsin. The national human trafficking hotline reports that since its inception in 2007, Wisconsin had 796 human trafficking cases involving 1,640 victims. (Woods, 2023) One study showed that 71% of prostituted women showed “clinically significant symptoms of disassociation”, a psychological defense against trauma in which a person splits or detaches from the rest of their life, in order to deal with overwhelming fear and pain. They experienced post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD at rates, equivalent to veterans of war combat.[3]

About 1.2 MILLION Wisconsin adults have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime. or about 1 out of 3 adult women[4]

[1] https://archive.org/details/perma_cc_V7FM-YXKQ

[2] U.S. Department of State. (n.d.). U.S. Department of State. https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ei/rls/38790.htm

[3] How big of a problem is sex trafficking in Wisconsin? Spectrum News. (n.d.). https://spectrumnews1.com/wi/milwaukee/news/2023/04/19/part-1–how-big-of-a-problem-is-sex-trafficking-in-wisconsin-

[4] Team teal 365 supporting victims and survivors of sexual assault. Team Teal 365 supports victims of sexual assault. (n.d.). https://spectrumnews1.com/wi/milwaukee/news/2023/04/03/team-teal-365-supporting-victims-and-survivors-of-sexual-assault

The Drug Crisis:

Deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone (primarily fentanyl) continued to rise with 70,601 overdose deaths reported in 2021. Those involving stimulants, including cocaine or psychostimulants with abuse potential (primarily methamphetamine), also continued to increase with 32,537 overdose deaths in 2021.[3]

In 2021, the latest full year of data available, there were 1,427 deaths in Wisconsin related to opioids. Note: 100% of our Harvest Home residents have experienced addiction and other mental health disorders or human trafficking related to abuse.[4]

[3] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2023, July 10). Drug overdose death rates. National Institutes of Health. https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates#:~:text=Overall%2C%20drug%20overdose%20deaths%20rose,overdose%20deaths%20reported%20in%20202

[4] Dose of reality: Opioids data. Wisconsin Department of Health Services. (2023, June 5). https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/opioids/data-reports-studies.htm

The incarceration crisis:

According to the National Institute of Justice, almost 44% of criminals released return before the first year out of prison.

In 2005, about 68% of 405,000 released prisoners were arrested for a new crime within three years, and 77% were arrested within five years.

Based on data from the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, the three-year recidivism rate in Wisconsin is 38.1%.[5]

[5] Recidivism rates by state [updated May 2023]. (n.d.). https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/recidivism-rates-by-state