Wisconsin

In 1634, Frenchman Jean Nicolet became Wisconsin‘s first European explorer. The French controlled the area until 1763, when it was ceded to the British. The state’s name is an English version of a French adaptation of an Indian name said to mean “the place where we live.” The Wisconsin Territory was formed in 1836 and was admitted into the Union as the 30th state in 1848. With the nickname “America’s Dairyland,” it’s no surprise that Wisconsin is one of the top producers of milk, cheese, and butter in the country. In fact, the loyal fans of the Green Bay Packers football team call themselves “cheeseheads.” Milwaukee, the state’s largest city, helps make Wisconsin one of the largest manufacturing states in the nation. The state capital, Madison, is home to the University of Wisconsin. The flower of the “Badger State” is the wood violet and the state bird is the robin.

Human trafficking is a serious issue that affects people all around the world, including in Wisconsin. It is a form of modern slavery in which individuals are exploited for labor, sexual exploitation, or other purposes.

According to data from the National Human Trafficking Hotline, Wisconsin has consistently ranked among the top states in the United States for the number of human trafficking cases reported. In 2020, the state ranked ninth in the country for the number of cases reported to the hotline, with a total of 102 cases.

Human trafficking can take many forms in Wisconsin, including forced labor, domestic servitude, and sexual exploitation. It often affects vulnerable populations, such as immigrants, children, and people who are homeless or in poverty.

If you suspect that someone you know may be a victim of human trafficking, there are steps you can take to help. You can report the situation to the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or by text at 233733. You can also contact local law enforcement or a trusted organization that provides services to victims of human trafficking. It is important to remember that the safety of the victim should be the top priority and to handle the situation with care and sensitivity.

 

 

Law enforcement on human trafficking – Spectrum News
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Law enforcement on human trafficking – Spectrum News

Editor’s note: Fourth in a five-part series on human trafficking in Wisconsin: Law enforcement’s view on human trafficking in Wisconsin. GREEN BAY, Wis. — The situation is difficult, complicated and it’s challenging to make much progress. That is the definition of a quagmire. It could also be used to define the human-trafficking crisis in Wisconsin. What You…

Part 2: How sex trafficking victims are lured in – Spectrum News
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Part 2: How sex trafficking victims are lured in – Spectrum News

Editor’s note: Second in a five-part series on human trafficking in Wisconsin: How are sex trafficking victims lured in? FOND DU LAC, Wis. — It was a diaper run – something young mothers across the country do every day. McKenzie Zahradnik was with her two children – ages 2 and 4 months – and pregnant with…

Heartbreaking abuse of children demands a major shift in outlook – Wisconsin Examiner
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Heartbreaking abuse of children demands a major shift in outlook – Wisconsin Examiner

News stories about the exploitation of children are particularly upsetting. They violate our most basic protective instincts. How could our society tolerate the systematic abuse of the very young? Yet recent reports on the  trafficking of minors in the United States force us to confront our complicity in a grotesque injustice. The blockbuster New York…

New bill directs universities to implement human trafficking awareness training – Royal Examiner
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New bill directs universities to implement human trafficking awareness training – Royal Examiner

This story is being published through a partnership between the Mercury and the Medill News Service. Tricia Obester, an elementary school teacher and mother of a high school freshman, knew fentanyl overdoses were a national crisis. She was also aware that nationally some students were taking drugs. What she didn’t realize was how young some…

Superseding Indictment Charges Wisconsin Man with Sex and Labor Trafficking, Production of Child Pornography, more
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Superseding Indictment Charges Wisconsin Man with Sex and Labor Trafficking, Production of Child Pornography, more

A federal grand jury in the Western District of Wisconsin returned a superseding indictment charging a Wisconsin man with labor and sex trafficking, production of child pornography and money laundering. The superseding nine-count indictment charges Austin Koeckeritz, 29, with forced labor, sex trafficking by force, sex trafficking of a minor, interstate travel with the intent…

Critical farm workers often trapped, exploited – Plymouth Review
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Critical farm workers often trapped, exploited – Plymouth Review

Immigrants, most of them undocumented, now perform 80% of the labor on Wisconsin dairy farms. There is a fascinating, human story in the relationship between the Mexican workers who come here to earn money to build homes and businesses back in Mexico and the farmers who depend on their labor on Wisconsin dairy farms. I…

TN AG Skrmetti Joins Bipartisan Effort Calling on Congress to Improve Federal-State Coordination
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TN AG Skrmetti Joins Bipartisan Effort Calling on Congress to Improve Federal-State Coordination

Nashville – Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, in partnership with 35 other state attorneys general, sent a letter to Congressional leaders informing them of an issue of grave concern with the National Human Trafficking Hotline. The letter requests assistance from Congress to preserve the critical joint federal-state effort to end trafficking. Since 2007, Polaris has…

Meat plant cleaning service fined $1.5M for hiring minors to work in Colorado, other states
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Meat plant cleaning service fined $1.5M for hiring minors to work in Colorado, other states

By Steve Karnowski, The Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS — One of the country’s largest cleaning services for food processing companies employed more than 100 children in dangerous jobs at 13 meatpacking plants across the country, the U.S. Department of Labor said Friday as it announced over $1.5 million in civil penalties. The investigation into Packers Sanitation Services…

Meat plant cleaning service fined $1.5 million for hiring minors across US
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Meat plant cleaning service fined $1.5 million for hiring minors across US

The Department of Labor says the company employed more than 100 children in jobs at 13 U.S. meatpacking plants, including George’s and Tyson in Arkansas. SPRINGDALE, Ark. — One of the country’s largest cleaning services for food processing companies employed more than 100 children in dangerous jobs at 13 meatpacking plants across the country, the…