Arizona State University Office of Sex Trafficking Intervention Research (ASU STIR) has embarked on a series of studies on human trafficking with individuals in hard to see places.
Our first study is our newly released report on the lived experiences of incarcerated women with surveys collected from a large jail in Maricopa County Arizona. This study is a collaboration with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office where we also work together to identify possible victims of trafficking using inmate tablets, train hundreds of staff per year, identify and service connect victims of sex trafficking, and run psychoeducation groups to survivors of sex trafficking in jail.
This study: Behind Bars: The Lived Experiences of Incarcerated Women, is an exploratory look of the lived experiences of incarcerated women and their victimization experiences. This report aims to support the criminal justice system in developing more targeted approaches to addressing the needs of incarcerated women, with particular attention to healing from trauma and abuse.
The paper-and-pencil eight-page survey was completed by 408 (49%) incarcerated women at the MCSO Estrella Jail over three days in May 2025.
Findings included:
- Less than half of the participants were from Arizona.
- 78.9% of the participants reported experiencing homelessness including 35.3% had lived on the street.
- More than half (51.2%) of the participants had dropped out of school with 16.4% having been in special education programming.
- The average educational attainment of the participants was 11th grade.
- 92.7% of the participants reported using drugs with the most common type being marijuana (98.9%), methamphetamines (81.8%), Fentanyl (62.1%), and heroin (51.2%)
- 46.8% of the participants reported witnessing domestic violence as a child.
- More than a third (35.3%) reported having been kicked out of their home as a child.
- The average Adverse Childhood Experiences score was 5.1.
- 44.6% of the participants reported experiencing sexual abuse.
- 77% of the participants reported experiencing mental health issues.
- 80.1% of the participants reported that they had been victims of domestic violence.
- 62.2% of the participants reported being sexually assaulted as an adult.
- 50.9% of the participants reported having been sex trafficked. If they were sex trafficked as a minor (19.8%), the average age of first sex trafficking experience was 15.1 years old.
- 43.1% of the participants reported that they had been in a ‘sugaring’ relationship.
- 25% of the participants reported they worked in strip clubs ranging in age from 13-35 and 32.4% reported that they could not stop working at the strip club when they wanted.
- 37.7% of the participants reported committing a crime because they were made to do something illegal by someone who was controlling or threatening them. 35.8% reported that they had committed a crime because they feared for their own safety or the safety of someone else.
- 14.3% of the participants reported that they were in their first incarceration experience.
- 37.7% of the participants reported committing a crime because they were made to do something illegal by someone who is controlling or threatening them.
Full Article: Estrella Jail Report September 2025
Authors:
Dominique Roe-Sepowitz, Arizona State University
Brandon Smith, Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office
Ezequiel Dominguez, Arizona State University
Arianna Weide, Arizona State University
Heather Hammond, Arizona State University