Williams Patricia R, Wyatt Wendyann, Gaddis Angela
a School of Social Work, Tulane University, New Orleans , Louisiana , USA.
J Evid Inf Soc Work. 2018 Mar-Apr;15(2):169-184. doi: 10.1080/23761407.2018.1430645. Epub 2018 Jan 31.
Sex trafficking is an unrelenting problem in Mississippi. No quantitative data currently exist on the prevalence of sex trafficking or the identification of victims in the state.
This study used the Trafficking in Victims Identification Tool (TVIT) (Short Version) to identify the extent to which a sample of clients (n = 28) receiving services at a non-profit social services agency in Jackson, Mississippi, were also victims of sex trafficking.
The TVIT interview tool was completed during the intake phase at one social services agency in Mississippi. Over a 90-day period, 54% (n = 15) of participants were likely to have been trafficked for sex at some point. The researcher focused on three questions identified as predictors of sex trafficking.
This research study provides a snapshot of the potential for identifying sex trafficking victims in Mississippi.
