Confronting Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Sex Trafficking of Minors in the United States: A Guide for Providers of Victim and Support Services

• NCJ Number: 247651
• Date Published: 2014
• Length: 52 pages
• Agencies: OJJDP-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Guideline

Annotation

This guide provides information for working with child victims of commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking.

Abstract

This guide from the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council contains information for victim and support services providers for working with child victims of commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking. The guide has three primary purposes: 1) increase awareness and understanding of the crucial problem of commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of minors in the United States; 2) examine emerging strategies for preventing and identifying these crimes, assisting victims and survivors of the crimes, and dealing with the exploiters; and 3) offering a path forward through a set of recommendations designed to increase awareness about the problem and support efforts to prevent it. The information in the guide is presented in four sections. Section 2 provides an overview of the problem, listing its risk factors and the consequences of the crimes. Section 3 describes how providers of victim and support services can help children and adolescents affected by commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking. Section 4 presents approaches and challenges facing the provision of these services. Section 5 contains a set of recommendations aimed at increasing awareness and understanding of the problem, strengthening the law's response, strengthening research on prevention and intervention efforts, supporting collaboration, and supporting information sharing.