Prevention of Child Sex Trafficking Among Vulnerable Youth in the United States: Addressing Domestic Violence as a Critical Social Determinant and Risk Factor
1 Department of Social Work, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville - Edwardsville, IL, USA.
2 Department of Development Policy, Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, Ghana.
Research Article
World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2023, 20(03), 2678-2688
Publication history:
Received on 02 November 2023; revised on 24 December 2023; accepted on 29 December 2023
Abstract:
Child sex trafficking represents a severe public health crisis in the United States. Thousands of children and adolescents fall victim to commercial sexual exploitation annually. Domestic violence exposure emerges as a critical yet often overlooked risk factor that significantly increases trafficking vulnerability. However, a comprehensive understanding of this relationship and effective prevention strategies remains limited. This study examines the intersection between domestic violence exposure and child sex trafficking vulnerability among youth in the United States. The study also evaluated current legislative frameworks, healthcare system responses and identified gaps in policy implementation and service delivery. A comprehensive systematic literature review was conducted across multiple databases, including PubMed/MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, ERIC, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library and Web of Science. The search yielded 1,847 sources, which were screened for relevance, resulting in 287 sources retained for final analysis. Federal and state legislative documents were systematically reviewed alongside peer-reviewed empirical studies. The findings revealed that domestic violence exposure significantly increases trafficking vulnerability through multiple pathways, including family instability leading to homelessness, mental health disorders and substance abuse. The results also showed significant gaps in prevention infrastructure despite existing federal and state legislation. Policy implementation remained inconsistent across jurisdictions, with inadequate access to trauma-informed care services. Healthcare professionals demonstrated variable capacity in identifying at-risk youth due to insufficient training and a lack of standardized screening protocols. The findings further revealed pronounced research gaps for underrepresented populations, including LGBTQ+ youth, male survivors, migrant children and Indigenous youth. The study, therefore, concludes that effective prevention requires integrated, equity-focused strategies to address domestic violence as a foundational risk factor through universal trauma-informed screening.
Keywords:
Child sex trafficking; Domestic violence; Vulnerable youth; Trauma-informed care; Safe Harbor laws; Prevention strategies
Full text article in PDF:
Copyright information:
Copyright © 2023 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0