Each year, more than two million children around the world fall victim to commercial sexual exploitation. The numbers of children sexually abused for non-commercial purposes are even higher. Put simply, the growing, increasingly-organized epidemic of child exploitation demands a coordinated response. The aim of this book is to bring some fresh thinking to this complicated area of the law, and to help erase some of its counterproductive mythology. The book provides the first comprehensive, practical introduction to the history and present-day reality of child sexual exploitation, as well as to the interconnected web of domestic and transnational federal laws and law enforcement efforts launched in response thereto. It is written from the distinctive perspective of those who have spent their careers in the trenches investigating, prosecuting, and adjudicating these intricate and commonly emotional cases. Relying on real-world examples, the authors offer proscriptive and descriptive practical advice and reform proposals aimed at those involved at all levels in this difficult area. Serving as a “first-line” resource for clear, practical thinking on the range of complex, and often misunderstood, investigative, prosecutorial, and rehabilitative issues surrounding child exploitation cases, this work is a must-have for anyone with interest in the protection of children from sexual exploitation and trafficking.

What is human trafficking? This volume critically examines the competing discourses surrounding human trafficking, the conceptual basis of global responses and the impact of these horrific acts worldwide.

Human trafficking is a serious human rights violation that leads to the gross exploitation of its victims, who are coerced into forced labor and slavery across the globe. As the current migration movement and refugee situation reaches crisis point in Europe, the risk of human trafficking from the Mediterranean Sea through Italy into Central and Western Europe has become a critical emergency. Focusing on human trafficking along this route into Europe, this book discusses the systematic exploitation of victims and the subsequent violation of human rights within an international context, providing an overview of the causes, regulation and prevention of the issue. Academic researchers, practitioners and policy-makers are brought together to provide both theoretical perspectives and practice-based approaches for addressing the issue of human trafficking. As well as scholarly contributions from experts in the field, the book also includes experiences and strategies of policy-makers and practitioners from governmental and non-governmental organizations, along with the real-life scenarios and practice reports. Human Trafficking and Exploitation should be considered essential reading for academics, policy-makers, advocates and activists interested in preventing human trafficking and protecting human rights. It will also be of interest to those with research interests within the broader themes of law, politics and international relations and social and health policy.

As awareness and identification of sex trafficking and exploitation have grown, so has the need for improved social work responses. In this volume, expert practitioners, survivors, and researchers model the best practices for working with this population, using case examples and illustrative guides. Chapters cover the common challenges of working with trafficked and exploited people and how to overcome them, including topics like runaway youth, trauma-bonds, system-level challenges, and resource scarcity. Intended as a teaching tool for students or a supplementary manual for organizations, this book emphasizes interventions and treatments, working with specific populations, programmatic design recommendations, preventative work, and outreach interventions. Researchers, students, and practitioners will find a comprehensive guide to the emerging field of practice with sex trafficking and exploitation survivors.

Every day in the United States, children and adolescents are victims of commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking. Despite the serious and long-term consequences for victims as well as their families, communities, and society, efforts to prevent, identify, and respond to these crimes are largely under supported, inefficient, uncoordinated, and unevaluated. Confronting Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Sex Trafficking of Minors in the United States examines commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents of the United States under age 18. According to this report, efforts to prevent, identify, and respond to these crimes require better collaborative approaches that build upon the capabilities of people and entities from a range of sectors. In addition, such efforts need to confront demand and the individuals who commit and benefit from these crimes. The report recommends increased awareness and understanding, strengthening of the law's response, strengthening of research to advance understanding and to support the development of prevention and intervention strategies, support for multi-sector and interagency collaboration, and creation of a digital information-sharing platform. A nation that is unaware of these problems or disengaged from solutions unwittingly contributes to the ongoing abuse of minors. If acted upon in a coordinated and comprehensive manner, the recommendations of Confronting Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Sex Trafficking of Minors in the United States can help advance and strengthen the nation's emerging efforts to prevent, identify, and respond to commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of minors in the United States.

This is the first comprehensive text to critically analyze the current research and best practices for working with children, adolescents, and adults involved in sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation (CSE). With a unique, research-based focus on practice, the book synthesizes the key areas related to working with victims of sex trafficking/ CSE including prevention, identification, practice techniques, and program design as well as suggested interagency, criminal justice, and legislative responses. Best practices are examined through an intersectional, trauma-informed lens that adheres to principles of cultural competency. Highlights include: Integrates a trauma informed lens in practice, program design, and interagency responses. Uses an intersectional approach to examine identity-based oppression such as race, class, sex, LGBTQ identities, age, immigrant status, and intellectual disabilities. Highlights the importance of cultural competency in practice and program design, prevention and outreach efforts, and interagency and criminal justice system responses. Reviews the different types of sex trafficking and CSE, the physiological and psychological effects, various risk factors, and the distinct needs of survivors to encourage practitioners to tailor interventions to the specific needs of each client. Examines the role of social workers and practitioners in interagency, legislative, and criminal justice responses to sex trafficking. Takes a broad societal perspective by examining the role of macro-level risk factors facilitating sex trafficking victimization. The book analyzes the commonly reported indicators of sex trafficking/CSE, how to conduct a screening with potential victims, and direct practice techniques with various populations including evidence-based trauma treatments. Other chapters guide the reader in implementing trauma-informed programming in a variety of organizational settings, advocating for sex trafficking and CSE survivors within the criminal justice system, and implementing effective prevention and outreach programs in schools and community organizations. Intended as a text for upper division courses on sex or human trafficking, interventions with women, trauma interventions, violence against women, or gender and crime taught in social work, psychology, counseling, and criminal justice, this book is also an ideal resource for practitioners working with victims of sex trafficking and CSE in a variety of settings including child protective services, the criminal justice system, healthcare, schools, and more.

The 2020 UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons is the fifth of its kind mandated by the General Assembly through the 2010 United Nations Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons. It covers more than 130 countries and provides an overview of patterns and flows of trafficking in persons at global, regional and national levels, based primarily on trafficking cases detected between 2017 and 2019. As UNODC has been systematically collecting data on trafficking in persons for more than a decade, trend information is presented for a broad range of indicators.