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The United States government has positioned itself as the global exemplar in the anti-human trafficking arena, including through its unparalleled financial support for domestic and international anti-trafficking activities. How the US has allocated these funds has not previously been systematically studied. Building on original databases compiled through a review of the US Attorney General's Annual Report to Congress on US Government Activities to Combat Trafficking in Persons for fiscal years 2017-2021, in this article, I offer a detailed analysis of US anti-trafficking funding allocations. I find that during the five-year period under review, the vast majority of US anti-trafficking funds were spent on reactive activities, including the identification, protection, and support of trafficking survivors and efforts to improve the detection, arrest, and prosecution of traffickers. In contrast, activities targeting the conditions that increase precarity, rendering certain populations at heightened risk of being trafficked, or that enable the exploitation of precarity, were relatively under-funded. When these conditions were addressed by funded activities, the targets were nearly always countries in Africa, Asia, or Latin America, perpetuating a discourse of trafficking as a social problem rooted in poor policies, practices, and inequalities seen as endemic in the Global South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This scoping review aims to summarize current research on help-seeking behaviors and patterns among children who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) victimization and/or are at high risk of exploitation. Because the literature on help-seeking specific to CSEC victimization is limited, the current review was expanded to summarize findings from help-seeking research for children who have experienced harms that often co-occur with CSEC, such as maltreatment and homelessness. The authors searched three large article databases (PsycInfo, Ovid MEDLINE, and Web of Science) for articles that were (a) empirical; (b) measured or used the term "help-seeking" in their framing and/or results; (c) included children between the ages of 12 and 18; (d) primarily focused on children from the United States; (e) published in English. Ultimately, 22 articles met all inclusion criteria and were included in the final review. Results suggest that cisgender white females are the most likely to seek help, followed by sexual and gender minority children. Cisgender male children were the least likely to engage in help-seeking behaviors. Universally, children were more likely to engage in informal help-seeking rather than formal help-seeking, with younger children being more likely to reach out to parents and older children more likely to reach out to friends. Importantly, ethnically diverse children were under-represented, leading to limited information about how and why these children seek help. Implications for help-seeking by children impacted by commercial sexual exploitation are discussed, providing guidance for programming and research related to CSEC prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thousands of youth are sexually trafficked each year in the United States. In order to address this concern, anti-trafficking advocates often emphasize the importance of uniform screening protocols to assist with the identification of survivors. Unfortunately, an oft-overlooked component of sex trafficking identification is what to do once a victim has been identified, and how to best meet survivors' complex needs. In this article, the authors provide social work practitioners and other advocates with best practice guidelines for how to design and evaluate anti-sex trafficking advocacy programs for children and youth. These guidelines include considerations related to direct services with clients, community partnerships, and organizational capacity, as well as recommendations for how to begin and then evaluate programming. Regardless of the form selected for the program, all anti-sex trafficking programs should be designed to provide effective, client-centered follow-up and advocacy once a positive identification is made in the community. The recommendations included in this paper are based upon extant literature, the authors' practice experience with survivors, and insights from anti-sex trafficking program evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

US Federal legislation mandates the treatment of underaged youth induced to sell themselves for commercial sex as victims and not criminal offenders of prostitution laws. Nonetheless, state prosecutors often take action in juvenile court against these youth. This study explored the impact of negative moral emotions, victim blame, and victim believability on public judgments of child sex trafficking victims under varying case facts. We presented an online scenario involving a trafficking case to 682 participants and manipulated youth sex, trafficker sex, vulnerability background, and prior arrest history to determine how emotions, victim blame, and believability mediate child sex trafficking decisions. Two different paths emerged depending on the youth's sex. Participants reported greater victim responsibility and greater negative moral emotions towards a male youth trafficked by a female when he had a prior commercial sex arrest, which in turn predicted a lower certainty of recommending social services over legal consequences. With the same facts, participants reported lower believability for a female youth when she had a prior commercial sex arrest, which in turn predicted a lower certainty of recommending social services over legal consequences. The paper ends with a discussion of the implications of the findings for practice and theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human trafficking is a serious crime and violation of human rights that results in numerous harms. Although the phenomenon is not new, scholarship on the issue has grown substantially since the first legal framework was passed in 2000. However, the existing literature has been criticized for its skewed focus on victims, among other things. The dearth of information on traffickers and their operations limits our ability to reduce or prevent perpetration. The current study presents a comprehensive and critical review of the existing literature focused on traffickers to synthesize what is already known and highlight the key gaps. Twenty-nine articles met the inclusion criteria of (1) focusing on traffickers and their operations and (2) relying on data either directly from traffickers or sources that contained detailed information about criminal cases against traffickers. We used an iterative process to identify relevant studies, which included collecting articles of which we were already familiar or were identified in existing reviews, searching their reference lists, and conducting cited-by searches until saturation was reached. Topics found in the extant literature included: characteristics of traffickers, relationships between traffickers and victims, organizational characteristics and networks, operations, connections with other crimes, motivations, perceptions of behavior, and risks associated with trafficking. It concludes with recommendations for future research and a discussion of how bridging gaps in the literature could support more rigorous mathematical modeling that is needed to identify and assess promising perpetration prevention and intervention strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to examine the associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and the high levels of social service usage by women who are sex trafficked. Fifty (N = 50) women who were sex trafficked were surveyed using purposive and snowball sampling methods. The ACEs score for respondents ranged from 2 to 10 with an average score of 7.4 (SD = 2.3). Emotional and sexual abuse tied at 88 percent as the most frequently cited ACEs among the women in this sample. The prevalence of ACEs was significantly higher in this sample compared with known estimates in similar populations, ranging from 20 percent to 54 percent (p <.001). Considering the well-established link between ACEs and poor health outcomes, these findings point to the need for innovative and targeted social service provisions to women who were formerly sex trafficked that take into consideration the high level of ACEs of the women. Given the sociodemographic diversity of this sample, there is a need for services that are trauma-informed, innovative, and culturally sensitive in a variety of social service settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human trafficking is a severe form of child abuse and maltreatment. Cases are pervasive and no demographic, socioeconomic status, community, or school is immune. The most effective response to human trafficking in school settings requires increased awareness and establishing policies, protocols, and procedures that support collaborative response to suspected human trafficking. School nurses are well equipped to lead these efforts. While the National Association of School Nurses acknowledges the importance of the role of the school nurse in child trafficking response in their Human Trafficking Position Statement, resources to aid school nurses in coordinated recognition and response efforts remain limited. This article reviews clinical guidance on human trafficking through a school-based lens, highlights indicators that should alert school nurses to the risk of trafficking, outlines best practices for response to abuse and exploitation, and provides additional tools and resources available to aid school nurses in their approach to caring for children experiencing trafficking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a robust quantitative approach for determining significant economic factors for sex trafficking in the United States. The aim is to study monthly counts of sex trafficking-related convictions, and use a wide range of economic variables as covariates to investigate their effect on conviction counts. A count time series model is considered along with a regression setup to include economic time series as covariates (economic factors) to explain the counts on sex trafficking-related convictions. The statistical significance of these economic factors is investigated and the significant factors are ranked based on appropriate model selection methods. The inclusion of time-lagged versions of the economic factor time series in the regression model is also explored. Our findings indicate that economic factors relating to immigration policy, consumer price index and labor market regulations are the most significant in explaining sex trafficking convictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The understudied bodily harm women experience after commercial sex (CS) may be partially explained by the prominence of Cartesian mind–body dualism in psychological science. Accordingly, we qualitatively explored the mind–body relationship among 79 female sex trafficking survivors. Survivors reported long-term negative alterations in feelings about the body, sex, and physical touch posttrafficking and these negative outcomes did not differ across women who self-perceived as consenting and women who self-perceived as forced. Implications for future research are presented, particularly on measuring dehumanization in CS which contributes to extensive harm even in the absence of physical aggression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the historical origins of the term red-light district. It argues that red lights became associated with prostitution in the United States not only because of red's popularity in the decor of nighttime businesses but also because of color symbolism popularized by the transportation revolution. As red signal lights on railroads came to indicate "stop—danger," people accustomed to viewing prostitution as a moral and physical threat read that symbolism onto nighttime businesses' existing practices of display. Meanwhile, places of prostitution that were located near railroad tracks in the American West embraced the red light as a form of advertising. The red light's simultaneous status as a lure and warning captured ambivalent responses to prostitution. As a result, it became a potent symbol of late nineteenth-century efforts to keep the sex trade at arm's length while also treating it as ineradicable. When city officials tried to control the harms of prostitution by segregating it, the products of their efforts came to be known as "red-light districts." Although the term has in some ways transcended its roots, scholars should be conscientious about their use of it given its implicit moralization of both the sex trade and urban space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Comprehensive programs that address the complex needs of survivors of human trafficking (HT) remain rare nationwide despite demonstrable remaining need. Non-profit clinics have proliferated to fill this gulf and provide care, services, and resources to this population. No existing research has explored success and challenges of such clinics. Objectives. To outline operational characteristics and provider experiences of several nonprofit medical clinics serving survivors of human trafficking (HT) that proliferated due to a lack of comprehensive integrated care serving this population. Methodology. We interviewed eight nonprofit medical clinics caring for survivors of HT across the U.S. Clinics were identified using a network sampling snowball approach. Semi-structured, conversational Zoom interviews were performed from May-August 2021 using SCORE analysis; subsequent thematic analysis established an interview codebook. Results. All clinics incorporated trauma-informed care and patient advocates, many offered primary care, and fewer offered partnerships with multidisciplinary services that provided mental health, pregnancy, or substance use treatments. Most clinics expressed challenges with funding, patient continuity due to mistrust or unstable circumstances, and patient identification due to legislative heterogeneity around HT. Conclusions. Nationwide efforts to standardize medical care for survivors of HT should learn from care models such as those demonstrated in this study. More healthcare systems with should provide comprehensive, integrated health care for trafficking survivors supported by line-item funding that sustains vital components such as patient advocates, mental health services, and substance use treatment support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent estimates indicate that there are over a million runaway and homeless youth and young adults (RHY) in the United States (US). Exposure to trauma, violence, and substance abuse, coupled with a lack of community support services, puts homeless youth at high risk of being exploited and trafficked. Although access to safe housing and supportive services such as physical and mental healthcare is an effective response to the vulnerability of RHY towards being trafficked, the number of youth experiencing homelessness exceeds the capacity of available housing resources in most US communities. We undertake a RHY-informed, systematic, and data-driven approach to project the collective capacity required by service providers to adequately meet the needs of RHY in New York City, including those most at risk of being trafficked. Our approach involves an integer linear programming model that extends the multiple multidimensional knapsack problem and is informed by partnerships with key stakeholders. The mathematical model allows for time-dependent allocation and capacity expansion, while incorporating stochastic youth arrivals and length of stays, services provided in a periodic fashion, and service delivery time windows. Our RHY and service provider-centered approach is an important step toward meeting the actual, rather than presumed, survival needs of vulnerable youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its creation in 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has been proven to participate in the human trafficking of minority women. Through use of government sources on human trafficking and on terrorism, primary sources as published by ISIS, and victim testimony, this research serves as an expansion on the previously understood uses of human trafficking by ISIS. As the definition of human trafficking is better understood, the recruitment practices of ISIS are considered human trafficking when the recruits are exploited after joining and are persuaded to join through deception or coercion. This article seeks to analyze how ISIS's use of human trafficking is ignored in the U.S.'s decision to repatriate Foreign Terrorist Fighters from Northeast Syria. The negligence of the U.S. government in the investigation of human rights violations by ISIS contributes to the trauma of human trafficking victims and subverts the UN Principle of Non-punishment. This article will not minimize legitimate fears of ISIS but introduces a new dimension to prosecution; the implications of victims of ISIS being treated as the abusers that counterterrorism policies seek to punish is an under examined and increasingly relevant issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human trafficking is the use of force, fraud, or coercion to compel a person into performing a commercial sex act or other labor services for a profit. Burgeoning research has shown perpetrators of labor trafficking (LT) can be anyone, including intimate partners. The current study utilized retrospective chart reviews of hospital patients who reported experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) and intimate partner-controlled LT between October 2017 and July 2022. Sixteen patients were identified. All but one patient identified as female and the average age was 38 years old (M = 38.06, SD = 10.67). Most patients were White/Caucasian (50%) or Hispanic (43.8%) and were born in the U.S. (68.8%). Suicidal ideation/suicide attempt was the most frequently cited presenting problems. Depression (37.5%) and bipolar disorder (31.3%) were the most common primary diagnoses, and most patients had a comorbid substance use disorder (62.5%). The majority of patients either lived in their own home (37.5%), or in a shelter or on the street (37.5%) prior to coming to the hospital. Five cases were selected to be highlighted in a case series to describe the complex experiences of these patients. Cases examined include LT within retail, domestic work, illicit activities, peddling and begging, and other labor settings. The findings from this study can help to inform screening and intervention approaches in the healthcare and community settings, as well as inform future research on IPV and LT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For years, survivors of sex trafficking, people compelled by force or circumstance to engage in sex acts, were often wrongly convicted of prostitution and many collateral crimes in the United States. These convictions became a permanent part of survivors' criminal records, inhibiting their ability to satisfy necessities for a dignified life—finding work and a place to live, or going to school. Since 2010, forty-five state legislatures across the US have sought to solve this problem by passing vacatur laws. These laws allow the survivors of sex trafficking a means to erase certain charges and convictions from their records. The American movement to support the human rights of sex trafficking victims is part of a larger, global non-criminalization movement to support survivors' human rights. This article surveys the recent and robust diffusion of American vacatur laws, situates them amidst the larger, global non-criminalization movement, and highlights both the strengths and weaknesses of the current US vacatur laws with an eye toward closing the rights gap for sex trafficking survivors. We argue that extant vacatur legislation should be expanded to include all crimes traffickers compel victims to commit, should incorporate trauma-informed means for establishing victimhood, and should be passed at the federal level to ensure complete and uniform protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child sex trafficking is an international dilemma. While child sex trafficking has been practiced for centuries, international leaders began focusing prominently on the phenomenon in the early 1990s. Political documents preceding this surge in concern include the 1902 International Agreement for the Suppression of White Slave Traffic, which thwarted the facilitation of selling women and girls abroad. Further, in 1910, the Mann Act forbade the transportation of persons, specifically women, for sex work. The United Nations took serious steps in 2000 when it enacted the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, which identified the use of modern-day slavery and discussed the process of internationally eradicating both labor and sex trafficking. Fundamentally, the United Nations focused on the training of immigration and police officials. By the time victims interact with these entities, however, it is often too late for the entities to help them. The United Nations protocol thus uses a criminal justice approach to halting child sex trafficking, but this Note will examine why this approach is not as effective as it could be and why the United States has set the standard for child sex trafficking identification through its public health approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, more than 40 million people are victims of human trafficking, exploited as a black-market commodity generating more than $150 billion annually. These people are forced to work in various industries, including domestic work and escort services. Though studies are limited, survivor interviews have indicated that most trafficked persons presented to a healthcare provider at some point during their captivity. No single validated tool exists for screening all victims of human trafficking across all healthcare settings, but several mechanisms are available for immediate implementation, and all have the potential to pierce the veil and spare a life from further abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human trafficking (HT) affects an estimated 40.3 million people globally with 24.9 million people affected in forced labor and 4.8 million in forced sexual exploitation. An estimated 18,000 people are trafficked yearly into the United States. Reports suggest that between 63% and 87% of trafficked persons were seen by health care professionals and were unrecognized while in captivity. The authors designed and implemented an innovative pedagogical intervention for nurse practitioner (NP) students using a 10-min simulation-based education encounter with a standardized patient depicting a potential sex or labor HT clinical presentation. Results demonstrated that simulation-based education is a feasible way to provide HT education to NP students. It is imperative that future NPs receive education/ training about HT to recognize potential victims and promote access to appropriate resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite extensive theory and research on the geography of crime, few studies have examined the geography of commercial sex and sex trafficking through a criminological lens. As such, this study explores how social disorganization and routine activities help explain the geography of commercial sex venues, specifically illicit massage businesses (IMBs) that host commercial sex. Because IMBs have also been linked to sex trafficking, understanding which environmental contexts are conducive to their presence may also help identify sex trafficking premises. Findings from hierarchical logistic regression models indicate that both theories point to significant correlates of IMB placement in census tracts and cities, yet neither theory provides a sufficient explanation alone. Implications for future research and policy will be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last decade witnessed increasing involvement of criminal street gangs in domestic sex trafficking in the United States. This paper analyzes business models and practices of gang-controlled sex trafficking in Northern Virginia, based on the cases available from PACER, an electronic public access service of the United States federal court. This analysis shows that business models of gang-controlled sex trafficking have become more sophisticated, taking advantages of the globalized financial system, new technology, social media, and the increasing prevalence of illicit commerce in a digital world with greater connectivity. Gangs' flexible structures combined with loyalty enforced among their members have shielded them from much law enforcement action. The analysis of different gangs involved in sex trafficking in Northern Virginia provides new insights into anti-trafficking policies and law enforcement responses tailored to their structures and modi operandi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores how the illegal slave trade between the United States and Brazil evolved in the 1860s–1880s into novel forms of captive mobility that closely resemble modern day human trafficking. It does so by examining the experiences of two Black families who were trafficked by an American 'Confederado' colonist. Through a close reading of a diverse array of sources, including government records, newspaper correspondence, passenger lists, and rich oral histories, it pushes back against the enslaver narrative in which these families are portrayed as willing travel companions. Instead, it narrates a counter-history that exposes how their enslaver used subterfuge, diversion and coercion to traffic them in plain sight and retain their enslaved labour against the tide of emancipation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Current research estimates that over 24 million individuals experience human trafficking worldwide. There is a growing prevalence of sex trafficking in the United States. An estimated 87% of trafficked persons visit the emergency department during their captivity. Emergency departments across the United States use differing screening methods for sex trafficking. Current screening tools return a high rate of false negatives, and the appropriate use of tools or standardised lists remains unclear. Aims: To explore best practices for identifying sex trafficking among adults who visit emergency departments. We sought to answer the practice question: How does the implementation of a multifaceted screening model for sex trafficking, versus the use of a list of standardised screening questions, improve the detection of trafficked persons? Methods: We conducted an integrative review of articles published after 2016 in PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, SCOPUS, and Web of Science databases. PRISMA checklist and guidelines were used. Whittemore and Knafl's method was used to review the literature. Results: A final selection of 11 articles were reviewed and appraised using the Johns Hopkins nursing evidence‐based practice model. The synthesis of evidence yielded four themes: (1) Provider and personnel education; (2) Protocol establishment; (3) Legal consultation; and (4) Multidisciplinary teamwork. Conclusion: Through this process, we learned the importance of using multifaceted screening tools for identifying persons who are experiencing sex trafficking. In addition to using multifaceted screening tools, detection is improved when all emergency department personnel receive training on sex trafficking. There is a recognised lack of education on sex trafficking recognition nationwide. Relevance to Clinical Practice: Notably, emergency department nurses play an essential role in sex trafficking identification due to their maximised interaction with patients and the increased perception of trust that patients have with nurses. Steps include the development of an education program to improve recognition. No Patient or Public Contribution: There was no patient or public involvement in the design or drafting of this integrative review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While research has demonstrated a complex relationship between sex trafficking and substance use, the relationship between substance use and trauma bonding is not well understood. A trauma bond refers to an emotional attachment that can develop between victims and their abusers. This study aims to explore the relationship between substance use and trauma bonding among survivors of sex trafficking from the perspective of service providers working directly with survivors of sex trafficking. This qualitative study involved in-depth interviews with 10 participants. Purposeful sampling was employed among licensed social workers or counselors working directly with survivors of sex trafficking. Audio recordings of interviews were transcribed and coded using aspects of a grounded theory approach. Three themes emerged from the data regarding the relationship between substance use and trauma bonding among survivors of sex trafficking: substance use as a tactic, substance use as a risk factor, and substance use as a potential trauma bond. These findings support the need to treat substance use and mental health concerns concurrently among sex trafficking survivors. Additionally, these findings can inform legislators and policymakers as they consider the needs of survivors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. To describe health care utilization and occupational exposures during trafficking among foreign-born people labor-trafficked in the U.S. Methods. Retrospective analysis of immigration files for health data among 114 labor-trafficked individuals. Results. Mean age was 30. Files of 38% mentioned accessing medical services at least once, mostly via hospitals (73%-81%). Forty-three percent (43%) had U.S. citizen children—indicating their children and spouses interacted with social and medical systems during exploitation. Almost all (97%) had limited English proficiency, and 75% did not have legal immigration status. Employers/traffickers interfered with access to health care and forced victims to work while injured. Half (50%) had sick family members. Victims reported physical and sexual abuse, toxic and environmental occupational exposures, and sleep disturbances. Conclusions. This is the largest study to elucidate health concerns and care utilization patterns among labor-trafficked people. Concerted resources must be dedicated to understanding health needs and health systems intervention opportunities for labor-trafficked people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the evolution of adoption policy and practices in Guatemala from the 1990s to 2021. The authors synthesized own research and analyzed adoption scholarship and reports and organized that history in three distinct periods: (1) conflict years (1966–1996) when mostly Guatemalan military families and associates adopted stolen children, (2) post-conflict and millennium adoption years (1997-2007) when the commercialization of children and illicit adoptions surged, and (3) reform years (2008 to date) when new adoption regulations and institutions were established. The article concludes that Guatemalan regulations aligned with international conventions improved domestic adoption, but gaps remain within the adoption and child protection system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The passage of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) and subsequent creation of a residency process for nonresident survivors of human trafficking (the T Visa) are notable milestones in the United States' effort to address the problem of human trafficking and provide essential supports to trafficking survivors. However, current implementation of the statute's eligibility criteria for accessing entitlements and protections contributes to a potential for retraumatization, further traumatization, and other continued harms to survivors. The present article explores the structural and conceptual limitations of current T Visa policy and of recent annual policy guidance materials as important contributors to these policy implementation problems. Resulting problems are identified as an ambiguity of definitions and thresholds, a narrow conceptualization of victimhood, and the contradictory relationship between protection and prosecution. This article then utilizes a trauma-informed social policy framework to identify multisystemic action steps for social workers to address these limitations and improve the T Visa process for trafficking survivors. These actions steps provide an essential road map for closing the gap between the policy goals of the TVPA and its current implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses how healthcare providers like medical imaging and radiation therapy professionals can detect or identify possible human trafficking victims to end the cycle of exploitation and provide appropriate care. Also cited are the importance of trafficking prevention education in accurate victim identification, as well as the activities associated to labor and sex trafficking like domestic servitude and exchange of sex for things of value like food and drugs.

Jeffrey Epstein, a wealthy, white, billionaire child rapist, ran an international sex trafficking ring. Rather than prosecute Epstein, Alex Acosta, a former United States Attorney, brokered a deal with Epstein's defense attorneys coined, "the sweetheart deal of the century." When Acosta abdicated his role as a state functionary and allowed Epstein's defense attorneys to dictate the terms of Epstein's freedom, Acosta gave the power of the State to private parties to protect a recidivist child rapist. The failure to prosecute Epstein is all the more problematic because it sits at the epicenter of mass incarceration. Through its carceral system, the United States disappears persons of color from existence, the political process, and the capacity to reproduce at rates both unprecedented and staggering. Epstein, however, inhabited a body that dictated the unprecedented process he received. Long before law enforcement discovered scores of Epstein's child victims, Epstein's race, class, and gender (his white heteropatriarchal privilege) incentivized the federal government to decline prosecuting him. Epstein's body prescribed his humanity, while his victims, often poor and female, lacked humanity and received no process. Acosta declined to prosecute Epstein, when the United States incarcerates more people than any other county in the whole of human history when there is a desire to prosecute. The preferential treatment prosecutors conferred upon Epstein demonstrates prosecutors' active involvement in the social construction of white supremacy, white heteropatriarchy, white innocence, and Black demonry. The failure to prosecute Epstein constructs white male ruling class innocence in the same way that hyperincarceration constructs Black guilt. Both are sides of the same hegemonic coin. Epstein demonstrates the ways in which prosecutors distribute premature death in vulnerable communities and life and liberty for the rich and powerful. Epstein dramatically illustrates that white heteropatriarchy is the result of both individual decision-making and structural dynamics within the criminal legal process. This two-tiered system of criminal justice, life for the powerful and death and destruction for the vulnerable, solidifies calls for abolition. Abolitionism, thus, becomes neither hyperbolic nor hysterical, but rather, a measured and reasonable response to a criminal justice system that targets vulnerable communities for cultural trauma and freedom for the powerful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sanctions are among the most frequently used foreign policy tools to address human rights violations, but they can be highly politicized. Since the early 2000s, human rights sanctions have been increasingly triggered by standardized rankings of states' performances. While research on economic statecraft suggests that coercive measures based on cross-national assessments may be less influenced by strategic considerations, scholarship on rankings highlights how standardized performance indicators can also be political. This paper investigates whether sanctions based on standardized human rights assessments are also influenced by senders' strategic political and economic interests. Empirically, we examine the case of United States human trafficking sanctions that combines universal rankings in the first stage and country-specific sanctions waivers in the second. The analysis leverages novel data on all Trafficking in Persons (TIP) rankings by the US State Department and presidential sanctions waivers from 2003 to 2018. Despite the TIP report's reputation as a reliable indicator, we find that both stages in the process of imposing human trafficking sanctions are driven by strategic attempts to minimize the economic and political costs of sanctions for the US. These findings have broader implications for the reputation and effectiveness of other human rights rankings by the US. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors share lessons from implementing the adapted Support To Reunite, Involve, and Value Each other (STRIVE) intervention to aid public health practitioners working with high-risk minoritized adolescents and their families. These include the value of focusing on positive aspects of the family, importance of prioritizing cultural relevance for advancing the understanding of implementing impactful interventions in communities who need them most, and insights for public health practitioners.

This study surveyed a national sample of victim service professionals (N = 222) and compared rural versus urban/suburban participants' perceptions of a variety of issues, such as the impact of the pandemic on gender-based violence victimization and safety advice for isolated victims. Increased interference with victim employment and the abuser monitoring of online activities were reported by participants across all communities. However, urban/suburban participants rated the magnitude of all victim challenges as greater, while more rural participants noted child abuse as a particular problem in their communities. The results highlight the importance of community context for improving coordinated responses to gender-based violence (n = 101). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Housing is often an immediate need for survivors as they exit a trafficking situation. Due to financial hardship, housing availability, and other barriers, many survivors rely on time-limited housing options, some which are offered by anti-trafficking service providers. As such, the anti-trafficking field has begun to adopt trauma-informed approaches to housing to meet the needs of survivors. In this paper, we present an analysis of policies and procedures from 73 US anti-trafficking housing programmes on the implementation of a trauma-informed model. We argue that mandatory requirements limit the implementation of trauma-informed service delivery. Additionally, practices such as the voluntary services model can be leveraged to increase trauma-informed approaches in housing services. Lessons learnt from this process can inform the revision of punitive policies and procedures in favour of those that are voluntary and trauma-informed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) includes children who are sexually exploited for commercial purposes in its definition of human trafficking victims. However, most states criminalize sex trafficked minors for prostitution. Despite this tension, little research exists on variation in state-level child sex trafficking statutes. Studying this legislation is necessary because state-level statutes often determine if children are treated as criminals or victims. Local law enforcement and service providers interact with this population more often than federal officials. This mixed methods study uses Event History Analysis and interviews with anti-criminalization advocates, state legislators, state legislative aides, and state prosecutors to examine social, economic, and political factors associated with legislative decisions prohibiting the arrest and/or prosecution of sexually exploited minors for prostitution. Statistical analyses suggest that states with a higher prevalence of concentrated disadvantage are more likely to criminalize this population. Similarly, participants in qualitative interviews describe conditions of structural economic inequality as a primary risk factor for child sex trafficking. For that reason, addressing socio-economic factors such as jobs, wages, and housing are essential for preventing minors from being commercially sexually exploited, and, as a result, being criminalized. Theoretical implications and policy recommendations are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Augmented intelligence—as the fusion of human and artificial intelligence—is effectively being employed in response to a spectrum of risks and crimes that stem from the online sexual exploitation marketplace. As part of a study that was sponsored by the National Institute of Justice, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation has documented 15 tactics that have been used in more than 2650 US cities and counties to deter sex buyers from engaging with prostitution and sex trafficking systems. One of these tactics, technology-based enforcement and deterrence methods, has been used in more than 78 locations in the United States. This paper explores the issue of technology-facilitated trafficking in the online sexual exploitation marketplace and juxtaposes this with the use of augmented intelligence in collaborative responses to these crimes. Illustrative case studies are presented that describe how two organizations employ technology that utilizes the complementary strengths of humans and machines to deter sex buyers at the point of purchase. The human(e) touch of these organizations, combined with artificial intelligence, natural language processing, constructed websites, photos, and mobile technology, show significant potential for operational scaling, and provide a template for consideration by law enforcement agencies, criminal justice systems, and the larger multidisciplinary counter-trafficking community for collaborative replication in other settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crucial to the fight against sex trafficking1 is understanding the experiences of victims and survivors. Survivor surveys have illuminated key areas to address, but a clear gap in the research is in the reproductive, gynecological, and procreative health issues of victims and survivors. This article opens the door to research and dialogue by publishing the findings of a pilot survivor survey focused on survivors’ sexual and reproductive health. The retrospective survey offers preliminary findings for a larger national study underway in 2023 that will enable healthcare providers, service providers and other first responders to identify and better meet the unique needs of victims and survivors of human trafficking in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the timing, duration, methodology, and content of human trafficking (HT) curricula in U.S. medical schools. Methods: An anonymous, cross-sectional survey was sent through email and phone to administrators of 199 U.S. allopathic and osteopathic medical schools. A supplementary survey was sent to students and faculty through email listservs and social media links. Data collection occurred from April to October 2020 and findings were analyzed through SAS software. All study measures were approved by the institutional review board. Results: Administrators were from 22 states and 34 schools (n = 51/199 schools; response rate: 25.6%) and n = 41 responded to all questions. Of these, 32% (13/41) self-identified as deans, 34.1% (14/41) as faculty, and 29.3% (12/41) as other administrators. Less than half (41.5%, n = 17/41) reported an HT curriculum. There was a wide range in length (average = 3 hours) and when present was almost always mandatory (n = 51, 88.2%). Few curricula mentioned labor (23.5%) or organ (5.9%) trafficking, or at-risk populations such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) members (13.7%), foreign nationals (7.8%), victims of political conflict (3.9%), and indigenous peoples (2.0%). Students and staff (n = 242) were from 34 states and 83 schools, and n = 36 (27.5%) reported a curriculum. Less than half (44.4%) felt the length (average 4.1 hours) was sufficient. Conclusions: Less than half of respondents reported an HT curriculum. It is unclear how well this curriculum prepares students to treat victim-survivors of HT. Future work is necessary to incorporate effective education on HT for trainees and evaluate patient outcomes after curricular implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human trafficking is a compelling and persistent problem that has attracted a great amount of attention among political leaders, government institutions, NGOs, and nonprofit organizations. While there is consensus that trafficking necessitates a multipronged policy response commonly known as the "3Ps" (prosecution, protection, and prevention), anti‐trafficking policies diffused across U.S. states in a piecemeal fashion. In this paper, we explore the fragmented diffusion of the different types of anti‐trafficking laws. Drawing from social constructivist approaches, we posit that the differential diffusion rates depend on the social construction of the target population and policy intention of the law. Using event history analysis, we examine the diffusion of 14 types of human trafficking laws throughout the U.S. during 2003–2013. We find strong support for our hypotheses and show substantial differences in the rates at which prosecution, protection, and prevention‐related laws diffuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sex trafficking is serious form of gender-based violence that results in profound adverse health outcomes, yet one that is poorly understood. New York City is a major hub for sex trafficking, with a significant but unquantified number of victims originating from East Asian countries and trafficked via illicit massage businesses. Peer-reviewed studies among Asian survivors of international criminal sex trafficking do not exist. The aim of this study is to qualitatively examine the factors at various levels of influence that impact the recovery and reintegration process of Asian criminal sex trafficking survivors in the United States from the perspective of survivors and front-line service providers. The study was guided by community-based participatory research and trauma-informed approaches, leveraging a collaboration with a well-established service provider organization. Ten in-depth interviews were conducted between 2018 and 2019 with three Korean survivors and seven key informants who were anti-trafficking service providers working with East Asian clients. Data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Survivors and service providers vocalized factors at multiple levels that either facilitate or impede recovery and well-being. Levels of influence included structural (e.g., poverty/debt bondage, immigration status, limited English proficiency), cultural (e.g., fatalism, collectivism), institutional (e.g., lack of culturally appropriate, trauma-informed care), interpersonal (e.g., exploitation, social support), and individual (e.g., resilience). Stigma was a crosscutting factor that spanned all levels of influence. This study highlights the voices of survivors and front-line service providers to understand the lives of an under-researched population of Asian sex trafficking survivors. Ultimately, the root, structural causes of survivor marginalization need to be addressed, which stem from the intersection of class-, gender-, and race-related inequities. While survivors continue to experience exploitation and marginalization post-trafficking, they also carry an enormous amount of resilience that must be leveraged in their path to recovery from trauma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The domestic sex trafficking of minors is occurring across Canada and the United States. Understanding the routes into sex trafficking, including the way traffickers target, recruit and enmesh youth in the sex trade is invaluable information for service providers and law makers developing prevention and intervention initiatives. This review synthesized research on the exploitation processes and tactics employed by traffickers in the sex trafficking of domestic minors in Canada and the US. The authors comprehensively and systematically searched five electronic databases and obtained additional publications and grey literature through a backward search of the references cited in articles reviewed for inclusion. Inclusionary criteria included: Studies published in the English language between January 1990 and June 2020 containing original research with quantitative or qualitative data on the recruitment or pathways into sex trafficking for minors trafficked within the US and Canada. The search yielded 23 eligible studies. The synthesis of the studies in the review converged on the notion of sexual exploitation occurring on a continuum comprising of three components; the recruitment context, entrapment strategies utilized by traffickers, and enmeshment tactics used to prolong exploitation. Findings highlight the significant physical, psychological and emotional hurdles faced by youth victims of sex trafficking and point to the importance of comprehensive and holistic approaches to prevention and intervention practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child sex trafficking (CST), the unlawful recruitment of any minor to engage in commercial sexual exploitation through force, fraud, or coercion, is a growing epidemic worldwide. Sex trafficking can have devastating consequences for children, including long-lasting physical and psychological trauma. Counselors working in clinical and school settings have first-hand access to a number of at-risk populations due to the nature of their work. Yet, counselors in the United States report lack of training on CST as a limitation to their ability to identify and effectively work with CST victims. Limited training derives from the absence of competency standards to guide counselors working with CST victims. To address this critical gap, this research study utilized expert consensus to develop an initial list of CST competencies for counselors working in the United States. A heterogeneous sample of 19-CST experts participated in a four-round Delphi process. The expert panel reached a consensus on 128 CST competency statements organized into five domains: (a) intervention strategies and the helping relationship, (b) trauma and sex trafficking, (c) assessment of risk factors and indicators, (d) ethical practice, and (e) cultural diversity and human growth and development. This article assists in identifying standards of practice necessary for counselors to detect, prevent, and assist sex-trafficked youth. Creating an initial list of competency standards can serve as guiding points for clinical practice training curricula, and quality control assessments for counselors, and possibly other mental health professionals, working with CST. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, millions of individuals are victims of sex trafficking and are compelled to perform sexual acts through force, fraud, or coercion. Law enforcement agencies, non‐profit organisations, and social entrepreneurs increasingly are using information technology as a resource to locate, identify, and rescue victims and find, arrest, and convict traffickers. In this qualitative case study, we partnered with a non‐profit organisation that trains law enforcement officers to use information technology to counter sex trafficking. For this research study, we observed training courses, interviewed law enforcement officers and non‐profit staff, and reviewed technology usage logs and other data sources. Some officers readily used the new information technology post‐training, while others failed to use the new technology. Using conservation of resources theory as a sensitising lens, we identify two factors affecting the use of new technology post‐training: the level of organisational resources available to individuals and the individual's perceptions of the new information technology as a resource. With these findings, we develop the Resources Model of Information Technology Use to explain how perceptions of organisational and technology resources affect information technology usage patterns and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores discursive constructions of women trafficked for sexual exploitation in newspaper articles in the United Kingdom and the United States. I draw on the results of a multimodal discourse analysis of 25 articles published in 2018 across seven newspapers. The framework of politics of pity is used to analyze the politics of representation of trafficked women. The analysis yields six categories that fall into two themes: Agency is depicted through trafficked women as deceased, controlled, and injured subjects, and visibility through the categories of strangers, victims, and survivors. These ways of appearance suggest that, in newspaper content, trafficked women are placed on a hierarchy of victimhood. Appeals to compassionate care are reserved for "ideal victims," while those lower on the hierarchy are construed as ambivalent subjects lacking a political voice. The study shows that dominant constructions of public suffering reflect a neo-abolitionist politics of representation, while marginalized identities and subjectivities are framed through ambivalence. To expand the remit of care, ambivalence could be productively used to contextualize social oppression in media accounts of human trafficking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human trafficking is associated with wide-ranging mental and physical morbidity, as well as mortality, in the United States and globally. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers are often first responders to victims of human trafficking. Given their proximity to patients' social and environmental circumstances, these clinicians need to be familiar with the signs and symptoms of human trafficking, as well understand how to best provide care for suspected or confirmed trafficked patients. Evidence from multiple studies indicates that providers who have received formal training may be better able to recognize the signs and symptoms of human trafficking, and thus, can provide better care to potential victims of human trafficking. This review will summarize the relevance of human trafficking to prehospital emergency care, touch on best practices for the care of patients with suspected or confirmed ties to human trafficking, and outline future directions for education and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are roughly five million victims of sex trafficking in the United States. Over the course of a decade, over 3,500 instances of human trafficking involved a hotel or motel. Traffickers are relying on unaware lodging establishment employees, as well as complicit employees and managers, to successfully carry out their crimes. Despite the vital role the lodging industry plays in human trafficking, only seven states have implemented mandatory training for hotel and motel employees. This Note posits that the implementation of mandatory training and education programs for employees of lodging establishments could increase awareness and responsiveness to human trafficking, thus increasing reporting of and ultimately resulting in a decrease in future instances and victims of human trafficking. This Note further argues that beyond this recently implemented legislation, Virginia needs to allocate resources to support survivors to combat falling into patterns of homelessness, continued prostitution, and substance addiction and dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]