New Commission to Fight Against Human Trafficking Created for City of Superior

On March 2nd, the Superior City Council voted to create a special city commission dedicated to combat and address the issue of human trafficking in the city.

SUPERIOR, Wis. – On March 2nd, the Superior City Council voted to create a special city commission dedicated to combat and address the issue of human trafficking in the city.

To fill the new Commercial Sexual Exploitation Commission, the city council president will appoint one councilor every year and the mayor will assign five members from the community. Members will serve for three-year terms. Mayor Jim Paine hopes having a diverse group will help their efforts for policy reform and supporting human trafficking victims.

“There are more people working on it and paying attention to it and so this is the logical next step,” said the mayor. “Unfortunately for much of our history, it’s something that people didn’t talk about, they didn’t think about it, there were no professionals that worked on it.”

A Minnesota ruling called the Safe Harbor legislation prevents those under the age of 18 from being prosecuted when they are involved in things like prostituion. Along with this commission, officials in Superior say they are advocating for something similar.

“I am so proud of Superior for being willing and open to first of all, talking about it, being willing to say that it is something we need to address in the city is huge,” said Tatiana Bergum, a coordinator for the Safe Harbor program at North Homes Children and Family Services in Duluth.

According to local officials we spoke with, there is little data about the current state of human trafficking in Superior, as much of the activity is hidden or unreported.