Gerassi Lara B, Cruys Caro, Hendry Nicole, Del Carmen Rosales Maria
University of Wisconsin-Madison Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work.
University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Child Youth Serv Rev. 2023 May;148. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2023.106906. Epub 2023 Mar 8.
The extent to which service providers across systems identify and assess potentially sex trafficked youth is understudied. The purpose of this study is to determine whether and how providers observe relevant indicators and assess for sex trafficking risk among minors (ages 12-17), young adults (ages 18-29), and families of minors. A cross-sectional, web-based survey was disseminated to service providers, who represented child welfare, youth justice, and social services (e.g. runaway youth, sexual violence), in a region of a Midwestern state (United States). Participants (N=267) were asked whether they provided direct services to minors (ages 12-17, n=245), adults (ages 18-29, n=148), and/or families/foster families of minors (ages 12-17, n=163), resulting in three respective client groups. Survey items assessed the extent to which providers (1) identified possible sex trafficking indicators across 5 domains; (2) took follow up actions; and (3) asked risk assessment questions. T-tests were conducted to examine differences between those who reported receiving sex trafficking trainings, compared to those who did not. Results suggest that the most commonly identified indicators included depressive symptoms, shame and guilt, lack of social support. Least common indicators included torture, false IDs, hotel involvement. A third of minor-aged providers did not ask sex trafficking risk assessment questions. Providers reported asking fewer clients about online sex trading than in-person forms. There were statistically significant differences among providers who received training. Implications, including provider strategies for assessing online sex trading and organizational protocols to enhance sex trafficking identification, are discussed.
跨系统服务提供者识别和评估潜在性交易受害青年的程度尚未得到充分研究。本研究的目的是确定服务提供者是否以及如何观察相关指标，并评估未成年人（12至17岁）、青年成年人（18至29岁）以及未成年人家庭中的性交易风险。向美国中西部一个州某地区代表儿童福利、青少年司法和社会服务（如离家出走青年、性暴力）的服务提供者开展了一项基于网络的横断面调查。参与者（N = 267）被问及他们是否为未成年人（12至17岁，n = 245）、成年人（18至29岁，n = 148）和/或未成年人家庭/寄养家庭（12至17岁，n = 163）提供直接服务，从而形成了三个相应的客户群体。调查项目评估了服务提供者（1）在5个领域识别可能的性交易指标的程度；（2）采取后续行动的情况；以及（3）询问风险评估问题的情况。进行了t检验，以检查报告接受过性交易培训的人与未接受过培训的人之间的差异。结果表明，最常识别的指标包括抑郁症状、羞耻和内疚感、缺乏社会支持。最不常见的指标包括酷刑、假身份证、涉及酒店。三分之一的未成年服务提供者没有询问性交易风险评估问题。服务提供者报告称，询问客户在线性交易的情况比面对面形式要少。接受培训的服务提供者之间存在统计学上的显著差异。讨论了相关影响，包括服务提供者评估在线性交易的策略以及加强性交易识别的组织规程。
