To many, Emmy Myers appeared to be a model student during high school. She was involved in gymnastics, track and the agricultural club. Human trafficking is on the rise in the U. In , the number of cases jumped These are cases that involve victims who are forced to engage in physical labor or sexual exploitation against their will. These crimes are climbing for a number of reasons, according to Jarrett Luckett, executive director of Exploit No More, a group that supports sex trafficking survivors.
Luckett frequently collaborates with Myers on events that raise awareness about trafficking in the city. These issues have helped make the city where Myers grew up, Milwaukee, a hub for human trafficking. Milwaukee is particularly desirable for traffickers because they can transport their victims to a handful of major nearby cities, including Chicago and Madison. But she was also sexually abused by a family friend from around the time she was 3 years old until she was 6 years old.
She spent most of her childhood blaming herself for the repeated assaults, she said. That eventually led her to find comfort in drugs and fall into the hands of a manipulative trafficker, she said. Myers said she first tried drugs in high school and started stripping during her senior year to help fund her habit. After high school, she first experimented with heroin and went to rehab twice before she turned She danced on and off to pay for drugs.
When she was 24 and trying to get clean, she moved in with someone who was abusive. He provided her with housing, clothes and food. But he also advertised Myers for sex on Backpage.
They pretend they love you. They learn what makes you tick and they learn your fears. He confiscated her identification and the little money she had. None of the men she slept with were violent with her.
