Shattered Hearts: The Commercial Sexual Exploitation Of American Indian Women And Girls In Minnesota

The topic of this report is the commercial sexual exploitation of American Indian women and girls in Minnesota, including but not limited to sex trafficking. In 2006, the Legislature passed Minnesota Statute section 299A.79 requiring the Commissioner of Public Safety to develop a plan to address current human trafficking and prevent future human trafficking in Minnesota. To develop a comprehensive plan for addressing the complicated issue of trafficking and the needs of trafficking victims, the commissioner created, per Minnesota Statute section 99A.7955, the statewide Minnesota Human Trafficking Task Force. The Task Force’s charge is to advise the Commissioner on the statewide trafficking assessment and on the commissioner’s plan to address human trafficking and prevent future trafficking in Minnesota, assisting in two statutory actions:

• Collect, share, and compile trafficking data among government agencies to assess the nature and extent of trafficking in Minnesota
• Analyze the collected data to develop a plan to address and prevent human trafficking