Wrong Rite of Passage: Maltreatment Histories of Trafficked Youth

• In Event: Roundtable: Victims & Offenders Special Issue on “Reforming the Criminal Justice Response to Human Trafficking"

Abstract

The proposed research will utilize the 2019 National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System to examine the prevalence and predictors of reported sex trafficking victimization against children in the United States. First, descriptive statistics and bivariate means tests will be used to present the profile of children who were reported as victims of sex trafficking versus other types of child maltreatment (e.g., physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, but not sex trafficking). Multivariate regression modeling will further explore the child- and care-giver level risk factors predictive of experiencing sex trafficking compared to other types of child maltreatment. Findings will be discussed with in the context of future research, policy, and practice for children who experience sex trafficking victimization.

Authors

• Caralin Branscum, University of Nebraska at Omaha

• Tara Richards, University of Nebraska at Omaha