Wisconsin U.S. Senate candidate called Milwaukee a ‘sex trafficking capital.’ Is he right?

Crime is a top issue in many campaigns, but sex trafficking is a uniquely terrible and challenging crime. 

On Oct. 8, Wisconsin Republican U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde took questions on several topics from members of the Rotary Club of Milwaukee and Milwaukee Press Club. He was asked about sex trafficking.

He talked about how his foundation has been working with the group Thorn: Digital Defenders of Children, to combat child sex trafficking, and advocating for people to be vigilant when they’re out in public. 

"There are a lot of organizations that are helping young people that have gone through this trauma, and just keep your eyes and ears open," Hovde said. "I hate to say it but Milwaukee is one of the sex trafficking capitals in our country." 

Is Milwaukee really a sex trafficking capital? 

We tried to contact Hovde campaign multiple times to seek backup for the claim, but those requests went unanswered.  

Hovde is not the first person to spotlight Milwaukee when it comes to sex trafficking. In 2018, the Medical College of Wisconsin published a report that found "340 individuals ages 25 and under were confirmed or believed to be victims of sex trafficking in Milwaukee between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2016." 

Mallory O’Brien, then-director of the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission, said then they have "heard from different sources that we’re the mecca of sex trafficking but we need to be able to measure that."

The Milwaukee Police Department said there were 35 cases of human trafficking in 2023 and 30 cases of human trafficking in 2022. In the department’s most recent quarterly update, there have been 25 cases of human trafficking so far this year, which is about the same as where it was last year.

Meanwhile, in 2023, the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families put out a report analyzing child sex trafficking from 2019 to 2021. According to the report, in 2019, Milwaukee County had 158 allegations of child sex trafficking, representing 33.3% of allegations statewide; in 2020 there were 124 allegations representing 28.8% of allegations statewide; and in 2021 there were 142 allegations representing 31.9% of all child sex trafficking allegations statewide. 

Compared with other crimes, human trafficking in the city is rare, police statistics show. But, yes, sex trafficking is a significant problem in Milwaukee. 

Let’s exmaine how Milwaukee compares with other cities.

The Polaris Project operates the National Human Trafficking Hotline, which according to its website is "one of the most extensive data sets on the issue of human trafficking in the United States." 

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Its most recent data for Wisconsin, from 2023, shows the hotline received 256 tips which led to 109 cases and 211 victims. However, that is statewide data, not specific to any city or town.

Sabrina Thulander, the Polaris Project’s associate communications director, said her group doesn’t rank states on this issue and the hotline "is not representative of all trafficking that occurs." 

"Rather, it captures the situations and victims made known to the hotline when a person calls in to ask for help for themselves or others, or as a third-party reporter. This same principle would be true for any trafficking database," Thulander said. "While it is possible that Wisconsin could have more reported situations and victims than other states, that does not mean it is a hub for trafficking. It could just mean more people are aware of what trafficking is and how to get help in this location."

Finding accurate data on this crime is difficult for law enforcement and victim advocates. So, designating Milwaukee as a "sex trafficking capital" is vague and difficult to measure. 

Hovde claimed "Milwaukee is one of the sex trafficking capitals in our country."

Although his office provided no backup, it’s accurate that human and sex trafficking crimes take place in Milwaukee and it is a significant problem. However, designating the city as a sex trafficking capital in the country is difficult to determine, as experts say this is a crime that’s hard to track and no one ranks cities in that manner. 

Our definition of Mostly True is "the statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information." 

That fits here.