Arrest as a Way Out: Understanding the Needs of Human Sex Trafficking Victims Identified by Law Enforcement

• In Event: Criminology at the Intersections of Human Trafficking

Abstract

Human sex trafficking has traditionally been examined from an international perspective, leaving a gap in our knowledge of the services needed to help the tens of thousands of victims currently living in the United States. Of special concern is the fact that many of these victims are only identified once they have come into contact with law enforcement, usually in the form of an arrest. As a result, these individuals stand the risk of being doubly victimized. In order to determine ways in which the gap between needs and services can be addressed by both the social service and law enforcement communities, interviews with women transitioning out of trafficking situations as the result of police intervention were conducted in order to better assess ways in which the local and national communities can work together to make a difference in the lives of these and similarly situated women.

Authors

• Nadine M. Connell, University of Texas at Dallas

• Nina Barbieri, University of Texas at Dallas

• Wes Jennings, University of South Florida

• Jennifer M. Reingle, UT Health Sciences Center