“There’s Absolutely No Borders. There’s No Limitations”: Technology and the Facilitation of Sex Trafficking

• In Event: The Scope and Nature of Sex Trafficking: Challenges of Measurement and Intervention in an Evolving World

Abstract

Objective: The current study explores the ways technology is used in the perpetration and prosecution of cases involving child sex trafficking (CST).
Design: In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 31 service providers and 9 law enforcement officers across 4 different communities in the United States. Participants were recruited using snow-ball sampling methods and community referral. Interviews lasted approximately 60 minutes and participants were asked to comment on the role of technology in the perpetration and prosecution of CST, among other topics. Transcripts were independently analyzed by two separate members of the research team using a grounded theory approach.
Findings: Three primary themes emerged from the data including: (1) Grooming; (2) Exploitation; and (3) Evidence. Participants noted the use of technology in the grooming and exploitation of youth, with younger youth and youth in rural communities connecting with their trafficker and exploiters primarily online. Participants located in communities without Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task forces were more likely to see technology as complicating prosecution.
Conclusions: Technology is an increasingly important facet of CST perpetration and can provide invaluable evidence for prosecution. This research represents an exploratory yet valuable step toward understanding how technology is used in cases involving CST.

Authors

• Jennifer O'Brien, University of New Hampshire

• Emily Cattarin, University of New Hampshire

• Mayalin Murphy, University of New Hampshire

• Kimberly Mitchell, Crimes against Children Research Center