Sex Trafficking in Minnesota
Minneapolis, March 7, 2014 – The League of Women Voters Minneapolis (LWV Minneapolis) today announced the release of a new report, Why Should We Care About Sex Trafficking in Minnesota, that works to further raise awareness of illegal sex trade and exploitation of underage females in Minnesota. The League commissioned the report, authored by Ana Isabel Gabilondo and Girija Tulpule of University of Minnesota’s Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center (UROC), and it is available through the LWV Minneapolis. A portion of any donations received will benefit Breaking Free, a local non-profit organization with a mission of helping girls and women escape systems of prostitution and sexual exploitation.
“All Minnesotans should care about sex trafficking because sadly it victimizes children and adults in communities throughout Minnesota. I applaud the League of Women Voters for showing such leadership by shining a bright light on the problem of sex trafficking in Minnesota.” Mark Kappelhoff, professor of clinical law at the University of Minnesota Law School.
LWV Minneapolis began raising awareness of this issue with a forum held in fall 2013 that included a panel discussion by experts in the field. The LWV Minneapolis then saw the need for further research to expose sex trafficking’s impact on the community at-large, and also to provide a detailed list of actions people can take to help prevent sex trafficking in our own communities.
“The report aggregates the latest information about this issue in Minnesota, and the numbers are shocking – sex trafficking is an industry that affects us all whether we realize it or not,” said Pam Telleen of the League of Women Voters Minneapolis. “We believe everyone in Minnesota should care about juvenile sex trafficking because we all pay for it not only by the physical and emotional detriment to young girls in our community but also in terms of increased public spending, reduced income tax revenues and lost human capital.”
The report is available online or by emailing [email protected] or calling LWV Minneapolis at 612-333-6319. A suggested donation for each report is $5. (A portion of the proceeds will benefit Breaking Free, an organization that helps women and men get out of prostitution.)