The Girl Next Door or from Overseas? Effects of Victim Nationality on Sex Trafficking Judgments

• In Event: Sexual Offending: Perceptions of Victims and Consequences for Offenders

Abstract

For numerous reasons, including inaccurate media portrayals and general lack of awareness, the public commonly misconceives sex trafficking (ST) as more of a concern for foreign citizens rather than United States residents. This assumption can adversely affect victims’ experiences with the judicial system at multiple levels, including the criminal prosecution of the perpetrator. The present study examined the effect of a victim’s and defendant’s national origin on perceptions of ST using a mock juror paradigm. Online community members (N=270) read an ST trial summary that depicted the victim and defendant each as being from either the U.S. (“domestic”) or Eastern Europe (“foreign”). We hypothesized that participants exposed to scenarios presumed typical (i.e., foreign victim) would yield more pro-victim judgments including guilty verdicts and lower victim blame. Findings indicated that a foreign victim was associated with higher defendant guilt ratings. Victim and defendant nationality interacted to predict victim blame. Participants blamed a domestic victim more when the defendant was also domestic (vs. foreign). When the victim was foreign, defendant nationality did not affect victim blaming. We discuss implications particularly for domestic victims, given that the majority of ST victims within the U.S. are in fact U.S. citizens.

Authors

• Nesa Wasarhaley, Bridgewater State University

• Claire Renzetti, University of Kentucky