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EVIDENCE IN ACTION
A quarterly research brief from the
Center on Trauma and Children
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Familial Sex Trafficking of Minors
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Sprang, G., & Cole, J. (2018). Familial Sex Trafficking of Minors: Trafficking Conditions, Clinical Presentation, and System Involvement.
Journal of Family Violence,
33(3), 185-195.
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Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to describe the clinical presentation of juvenile victims of commercial sexual exploitation perpetrated by family members in a sample of clients receiving assessment and/or treatment related to child maltreatment. Specifically, this research focuses on: (1) victim, trafficker, and trafficking characteristics, law enforcement classifications for trafficked youth, clinical profiles of victims, and service system involvement of children and youth involved in familial sex trafficking; (2) gender differences in clinical outcomes of commercially exploited youth; and (3) geographical differences in the severity of the victimization experience.
Methods
Using a sample of 31 child welfare-involved children referred for behavioral health assessment and treatment, this mixed methods study explores: (1) victim and trafficker characteristics, the trafficking situation, law enforcement classifications of trafficking, clinical profiles of victims, and system involvement of children and youth involved in familial sex trafficking; (2) gender differences in clinical outcomes in sex-trafficked children; and (3) geographical differences in severity of the victimization experience.
Results
Major findings document:
- High rates of family members trafficking children for illicit drugs; high severity of abuse as measured with the Sexual Abuse Severity Score, with higher severity of abuse for children living in rural communities
- Clinical threshold level scores on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC)
- Boys and girls had similar clinical profiles except boys had higher CBCL externalizing scores, and females had higher TSCC depression scores
- More than half of the children in this sample had attempted suicide in their lifetime, and 60% had ongoing contact with their trafficker post-identification
- In the juveniles represented in this study, secondary losses and victimization experiences were the norm, and one in five had health-related issues (i.e. sexually transmitted diseases, early pregnancy)
- Although all of these cases were child welfare involved, none were identified or labeled as sexual exploitation cases at the system level
Conclusions
This formative study sheds light on the phenomenon of familial sex trafficking, thereby creating the context for further investigations. Implications for identification and effective responses to familial sex trafficking are discussed below.
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- Most of the literature on sexual exploitation and substance dependence focuses on the youth's addiction, and the role of illicit drug use by the caregiver is rarely mentioned. Parents, especially mother's, who are identified as substance dependent by any agency should be screened for involvement in familial sex trafficking. This screening should include others in the life of the parent whose substance dependence is creating the impetus for others to gain access to their children.
- The fact that almost 60% have ongoing contact with their trafficker speaks to the difficulties these children and youth may have in protecting themselves from ongoing exposure to the perpetrator of the crimes against them, and represents an enduring threat to their psychological and physical safety.
- Current trauma screening tools need to be modified to detect sex trafficking and specifically, familial sex trafficking cases.
- Health professionals should screen young people who present with these issues to health clinics or hospital emergency rooms for involvement in sex trafficking, as this may be the initial point of service system contact, and an opportunity for detection and intervention.
- Proper identification of cases involving commercial sexual exploitation by family traffickers is needed to facilitate pathways to appropriate treatment, and is consistent with best practice recommendations for improved screening and identification of domestic sex trafficking of minors (U.S. Department of Justice, 2016).
- The occurrence of family trafficking of young children, in more isolated and under-resourced communities creates a confluence of risk that may hamper the detection and response to these victims. Specialized training is needed for rural providers.
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