By age 19, the petite, blond-haired woman was homeless, a slave to heroin and becoming ensnared by a sex trafficking industry that is quietly rampant in Madison.
Madison Police Detective Maya Krajcinovic, who investigates sensitive crimes, hugs a 23-year-old woman who had been addicted to heroin and a victim of human trafficking for four years.
Youth can be assaulted, abuse substances, develop mental health problems, and engage in "survival sex," trading their bodies for food, clothing, drugs, money or a place to stay.Â
An 18-year-old woman, homeless for five years, became ensnared by human trafficking. "I'm in a place where I don't even know who I am anymore," she said.
Areas like this one, where Madison police say they frequently witness sex trafficking and drug dealing, are scattered around the city. The man shown here leaves after an encounter with a young woman in a car that drew the suspicion of Police Detective Maya Krajcinovic, who accompanied a State Journal reporter and photographer when this picture was taken.
Human trafficking is the recruiting, enticing, harboring, transporting or obtaining a person for the purposes of commercial sex through fraud, force or coercion.
Its usage has increased in recent years as people in law enforcement and social service have sought to draw a distinction between prostitution in which the person selling sex is more or less freely choosing to do so and the more common situation in which a pimp is controlling and profiting from the person who is delivering the sex.
Other terms associated with human trafficking include:
Backpage:Â An Internet site that has legitimate purposes but also a section advertising local "escorts," many of whom are victims of human trafficking.
Bitch: The most common term used by pimps and customers when referring to a prostitutes and nude dancers.Â
Pimp: A person, almost always a man, who persuades, compels or entices someone else to become a victim of human trafficking. The pimp usually will take all of the money from his victims, and he often will have several girls working for him. The pimp usually has no legitimate source of income. A "finesse pimp" controls through psychological brainwashing, and a "gorilla pimp" controls his victims through violence -- though nearly all pimps exert some level of physical intimidation over their victims.Â
Prostitute: A person who offers sex for something of value, such as money or drugs. Is independent and not connected to a pimp.
Trick/john: A customer or date.
Source: Madison Police Department
How to help, how to get it
If you are homeless or near-homeless and need help: For emergency shelter, call the toll-free Dane County Housing Crisis Line at 855-510-2323. For other housing questions or general assistance, call the United Way of Dane County helpline at 2-1-1 or go to danecountyhomeless.org.Â
To report a case of suspected trafficking, especially in matters of immediate danger, call 911.
To share information on known traffickers or victims, contact the Wisconsin Department of Justice, which receives calls 24-hours a day at, 608-266-1671.
To make a cyber tip report, contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678, or to make an online report, missingkids.org/cybertipline
Locally, trafficking victims seeking support can contact Project Respect: 608-332-4955, or jan@respectmadison.com
Madison Police Detective Maya Krajcinovic, who investigates sensitive crimes, hugs a 23-year-old woman who had been addicted to heroin and a victim of human trafficking for four years.
An 18-year-old woman, homeless for five years, became ensnared by human trafficking. "I'm in a place where I don't even know who I am anymore," she said.
Areas like this one, where Madison police say they frequently witness sex trafficking and drug dealing, are scattered around the city. The man shown here leaves after an encounter with a young woman in a car that drew the suspicion of Police Detective Maya Krajcinovic, who accompanied a State Journal reporter and photographer when this picture was taken.
