The United States abolished slavery in 1865, but according the Greater Milwaukee Rescue and Restore Coalition, slavery still exists in the form of human trafficking.

The coalition formed a year and half ago to educate people about the warning signs that come with human trafficking.

"The purpose of the coalition is to provide training to everyone on the front lines and treat them as victims, not criminals," said James Hiller, president of the organization. The coalition held a rally Wednesday morning at the Holy Redeemer Institutional Church of God in Christ on 3500 Mother Daniels Way in Milwaukee.

According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, between 600,000 and 800,000 people are trafficked every year worldwide, and between 14,500 and 17,500 people are trafficked every year in the United States.

According to Sister Mary Ellen Dougherty, USCCB spokeswoman, the increase in poverty in some countries helps drive human trafficking.

The USCCB has received grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Family Services and the U.S. Department of Justice to provide awareness and serve the victims of human trafficking.

"It plays into the global economy," Dougherty said. "The global economy has made human trafficking easy and lucrative."

Countries with difficult immigration laws provide an easy opportunity for smugglers because victims want to get into the country, she said.

New York City, Miami and Houston are where many victims of human trafficking are found, Dougherty said.

One case has gone to court in the Milwaukee area. An illegal immigrant was held against her will by a Brookfield couple for 19 years.

According to Tracy Johnson, assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, the victim acted as the couple's domestic servant.

The couple allegedly threatened her with serious harm and physical restraint in order to keep her as their housekeeper.

The couple was convicted in May of imposing forced language and harboring an illegal immigrant, Johnson said.

Victims of human trafficking are subjected to brutal tactics that their captors use to control them, Hiller said.

"Victims undergo psychological abuse, physical abuse, threats to their families, confiscation of personal property and confiscation of identities," he said. "Watch out for those who are lacking ID, appear to be intimidated, people who are accompanied by people who will not leave them alone and the physically abused."

According to Dougherty, people in pastoral settings are an important part of identifying signs of human trafficking because, oddly enough, victims are often only allowed to go to Mass.

According to Hiller, the majority of victims are in prostitution. These victims are the hardest people for law enforcement to help because they are regarded as prostitutes, Hiller said.

According to Debbie Donovan, Coordinator of the Sexual Assault Treatment Center at Aurora Sinai Medical Center, 945 N. 12th St., is the only treatment center that provides crisis intervention and evaluation in Wisconsin.

"We provide a therapeutic response and a medical response for victims," she said.

The center serves about 600 to 700 victims of sexual assault a year, Donovan said.

"Our role in the Rescue and Restore Coalition is to recognize the signs of human trafficking and report them to the police," she said.