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DePaul’s Family Law Center to Release Results of Study on Sex Trafficking of Women and Girls in Chicago on May 7

The at the DePaul University College of Law will release the results of a major study on the sex trafficking of women and girls in the Chicago metropolitan area at 9:30 a.m. May 7 at the DePaul University Club, 1 E. Jackson Blvd., 11th floor. The project studied 100 young women under the age of 25 who are active in the Chicago area sex trade, all of whom had a pimp.

The study, titled Domestic Sex Trafficking of Chicago Women and Girls, was conducted in conjunction with the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority and funded by a grant from the Chicago Founation for Women. It examined the strategies used to recruit young women; the levels of coercion involved in their recruitment; and the control and violence used to keep women in the trade. The research also examined the geographical areas in which women are forced to work, including the distances they are transported and whether state lines are crossed in the process. One of the goals of the investigation was to explore parallels between young women in the local sex trade and those internationally trafficked to Chicago.

“This new information raises serious issues that Chicago communities must confront about the exploitation of needy girls within their midst to meet the sexual needs of male customers,” said Jody Raphael, an attorney and senior research fellow at the Family Law Center who led the investigation. “Like the responses provided to victims of international trafficking, alternatives to charging, sentencing and incarceration need to be implemented in a way that offers needed social service programming and housing, all supported with adequate resources.”

Among the study’s findings are:

• The average age of entry into regular involvement in the sex trade in the sample was 16.4 years of age.
• 33 percent of the sample began in the sex trade between the ages of 12 and 15, and 56 percent were 16 or younger.
• The tactics used to recruit women mirror, in many instances, methods used by international traffickers, including violence (20 percent), coercion (35 percent) and false promises (57 percent).
• Once recruited, acts of violence toward the women increased over time, as did the number of customers women were expected to sell to each day and the number of geographical areas in which they were expected to sell themselves.

Like international trafficking situations, the women were regularly transported to other venues by their pimps. The results indicated that 67 percent were transported from Chicago to the suburbs and vice versa. Additionally, 28 women in the sample were transported to other states including Nevada, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and New York, among others.

“The data mandates young women controlled by pimps in the Chicago metropolitan sex trade be considered domestic violence victims in need of assistance to safely exit the trade,” said Raphael. “In the past, it has been difficult to gain access to young girls controlled by pimps and traffickers.”

The complete study will be available at the May 7 media availability where it will be publicly released. At the same event, the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation also will present its preliminary findings on the responses and attitudes of 113 male customers who purchased sex in the metropolitan Chicago area.

For additional information about the event or the study results, contact Jody Raphael at 312/362-5205.

Media Contact: Valerie Phillips, (312)362-5039 - vphillip@depaul.edu