First-of-its-kind human trafficking study conducted in Florida, bringing hope for prevention and enforcement

USF releases study on human trafficking in Florida

A first-of-its-kind study said there are 200,000 Floridians who are living as sex slaves, and another 500,000 are being forced to work. Evan Axelbank reports.

TAMPA, Fla. - For a year, Gabrielle Triplett lived the life of a slave, being sold for sex by a so-called boyfriend who wound up shooting and almost killing her. 

What they're saying:

"Somebody like me who was older, who was homeless, who had a drug addiction, I thought in my mind, I deserved everything that happened to me," Triplett said. 

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He first found her on the streets of Sarasota.

"They work on building relationships with people," she said. "They work on finding out what their vulnerabilities are, what their weaknesses are, and then they exploit those."

What we know:

A first-of-its-kind study said there are 200,000 Floridians who are living as sex slaves, and another 500,000 are being forced to work. The study was done by USF St. Pete after a 2023 state law required the collection of data, so the problem could finally be stopped.

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"It isn't only just the first report Florida has ever done," said Dr. Shelly Wagers, a USF criminologist. "We don't know of any other state that has done it to this level and this magnitude."

The 143-page report goes through the efforts each county makes to identify victims, describes how many prosecutions are done and how many commercial sex ads there are. 

One graph shows Tampa has the third-most ads in the state for prostitutes, signifying demand. 

Researchers have found the public to be in denial about the scope of the problem, and that funding is lacking for those who need housing while they're trying to escape a trafficker.

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"One of the goals is doing this every year will allow us to see a measure and track the data over time," said Wagers.

Big picture view:

Florida is unlucky in that it has a plethora of large cities all connected by highways, slews of big events, and large airports and seaports. 

But the basics of it, Triplett said, is that the myth, that trafficking starts with a kidnapping and a dungeon, has to be busted.

"Prevention is key," said Triplett. "So we can educate our youth and equip them with the knowledge and tools to stay safe before they fall into the hands of these traffickers."

The report does applaud Florida's efforts to get ahold of the problem, saying that prosecutions have increased, along with cooperation between agencies.

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But as long as Florida is a hotbed of things like tourism, entertainment and agriculture, there will always be demand and populations susceptible to the desperation that leads to someone being trafficked.

Triplett is a spokesperson for Selah Freedom and said they offer public speakers on their website, selahfreedom.com.