PHOENIX — New research inside Estrella Jail is putting numbers to what many incarcerated women have long described: lives shaped by violence, homelessness, addiction and sex trafficking before they ever arrived behind bars.
A second survey of 289 women, conducted this summer by Arizona State University's Office of Sex Trafficking Intervention Research, found nearly 79% reported experiencing domestic violence as adults. More than 76% had experienced homelessness, and 64% reported drug addiction. Of the 230 women who answered questions about sex trafficking, nearly 61% said they had been trafficked.
The two surveys are the first of their kind in the county.
Louann Goss, 54, has been in and out of incarceration since she was 16. She says her story began in childhood with sexual abuse, sex trafficking and running away from home at age 14.
"I've been in and out of trouble with law my whole life because of it. Been a drug addict and alcoholic because of it. Suffered numerous bouts of homelessness," Goss said.
Candace Larsen is 19. She also describes childhood trauma, homelessness and drug use — but she is direct about the role her own choices played as well.
"By the age 17, I was in juvie jail... because of my choices: getting into drugs, doing gang stuff, selling drugs just to make money because I was homeless. And that was the only thing I ever known how to do," Larsen said.
A third woman, who asked to be identified only as Vanessa, pointed to mental health as a systemic gap.
"I think mental health is a huge delinquency in the system. And if that could be addressed, a lot of issues could be fixed," Vanessa said.
ASU STIR's research is already shaping new programming inside the jail. An initiative called the Becoming Collaborative brings together eight agencies to voluntarily provide programming addressing substance abuse, domestic violence, health, parenting and sex trafficking.
"We are doing our second wave of research of women who are incarcerated here," said Dominique Roe-Sepowitz, Director of ASU STIR. "To really build a deep well of programs so that the women who are here feel seen and heard, and that we're able to help heal some of the things that have happened to them in their life."
Larsen says she is embracing all opportunities inside the jail and has already completed more than 70 hours of coursework.
"It has a lot of like trauma stuff that you could go through. It has a lot of mindfulness that you could go through," Larsen said.
For Goss, after decades cycling through the system, what happens after release matters just as much as what happens inside.
"What we need are the outside resources. We need something that helps us stop going back to the trade. We need resources that help us out the door. That says we no longer have to trade our bodies for sex. We no longer have to steal items to pay for things," Goss said.
The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office says community providers teaching programs inside the jail can continue working with women after they are released.
"They're already going to have that connection. So when they get out, they'll be able to work with that same community service provider that they were working with in here," said Brandon Smith, MCSO Deputy Chief, said.
For Larsen, the programs have sparked something she is holding onto.
"It makes me feel proud of myself," Larsen said. "Like I can actually do it. Like it makes me feel good about myself."
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