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A Method To Develop A Statewide Resource Guide, Needs Assessment, And Service Inventory To Respond To Human Trafficking, Andrea Nichols, Kathleen Preble Sep 2022

A Method To Develop A Statewide Resource Guide, Needs Assessment, And Service Inventory To Respond To Human Trafficking, Andrea Nichols, Kathleen Preble

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

The extant research literature indicates that human trafficking survivors have a myriad of service needs, including acute and long-term needs. A statewide resource guide, needs assessment, and service inventory were developed for Missouri through community action research involving a partnership with an anti-trafficking coalition, a consortium of funders, and a series of small research teams. This article details the evolution of a resource guide and describes the methods used to 1) develop a statewide resource guide for human trafficking survivors and the service providers who work with them, 2) evaluate the resource guide, 3) create a statewide/regional service inventory based …


Traffickers’ Use Of Substances To Recruit And Control Victims Of Domestic Trafficking For Sexual Exploitation In The American Midwest, Erica Koegler, Claire Wood, Lilly Bahlinger, Sharon Johnston Jan 2022

Traffickers’ Use Of Substances To Recruit And Control Victims Of Domestic Trafficking For Sexual Exploitation In The American Midwest, Erica Koegler, Claire Wood, Lilly Bahlinger, Sharon Johnston

Social Work Faculty Works

This paper describes how traffickers use substances to recruit and control victims of domestic trafficking for sexual exploitation, as reported by service providers working with trafficking survivors in the American Midwest. This data was derived from interviews with 15 service providers in a major metropolitan area. Findings revealed consistencies with previous literature and new insights into the trafficker- substance use dynamic. Traffickers’ use of substances with victims was pervasive when trafficking was for the purpose of sex but not other labour. There were several examples of how traffickers use substances for victim exploitation and recruitment. These include using substances to …


Human Trafficking Of People With A Disability: An Analysis Of State And Federal Cases, Andrea Nichols, Erin Heil Jan 2022

Human Trafficking Of People With A Disability: An Analysis Of State And Federal Cases, Andrea Nichols, Erin Heil

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

The current academic discourse examining human trafficking is lacking in focus on survivors with a disability. The increased likelihood of abuse experienced by people with a disability is well documented in the research literature, and a small body of research indicates heightened sex trafficking victimization of minor girls with a disability. Yet, very little research specifically examines sex and/or labor trafficking of people with a disability, and no systematic research analyzes prosecuted cases of trafficking with disability as the focal point of analysis. Drawing from a content analysis of 18 federal and 17 state cases of human trafficking, the current …


Introduction: Dignity's Special Issue On The Chab Dai Coalition's Butterfly Longitudinal Research Project, Leslie M. Tutty Aug 2021

Introduction: Dignity's Special Issue On The Chab Dai Coalition's Butterfly Longitudinal Research Project, Leslie M. Tutty

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.


“Child Witches”: Sexual Exploitation And Abuse Of Homeless Girls In South-Southern Nigeria, Chima Agazue Jan 2021

“Child Witches”: Sexual Exploitation And Abuse Of Homeless Girls In South-Southern Nigeria, Chima Agazue

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Sexual exploitation and abuse of girls is one of the endemic social problems in Nigeria. Although this problem has attracted much research attention in recent times, some newly emerged factors contributing to the problem have been mostly ignored. This study explored how the abandonment of children following their stigmatization as witches contributes to sexual exploitation and abuse of the girls in the Akwa Ibom and Cross River states of Nigeria. The study was based on the qualitative research paradigm. Data was collected via semi-structured interviews of three senior staff members of the Child’s Rights and Rehabilitation Network (CRARN)—a children’s charity …


On Exiting From Commercial Sexual Exploitation: Insights From Sex Trade Experienced Persons, Andrea Heinz Aug 2020

On Exiting From Commercial Sexual Exploitation: Insights From Sex Trade Experienced Persons, Andrea Heinz

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

As a woman who exited after seven years in licensed commercial sexual exploitation in Canada, I share my reflections on my experience, which led to the development of the Insights from Sex Trade Experienced Persons (InSTEP) Model. The model was constructed based on interviews with “service providers” in the sex trade. Twelve exited women share their experiences inclusively. InSTEP is geared toward a population of quasi-autonomous providers who have alternate economic options. Three levels are introduced in the InSTEP model to describe the continuum of agency among service providers; Level 1: trafficked/controlled; Level 2: quasi-autonomous; Level 3: autonomous. The InSTEP …


Promote Healing And Restore Lives: Clinicians’ Reflections On Their Experiences In Working With Survivors Of Trafficking, Brittany Burch Jul 2020

Promote Healing And Restore Lives: Clinicians’ Reflections On Their Experiences In Working With Survivors Of Trafficking, Brittany Burch

McNair Scholars Research

Humans are shaped by their personal beliefs, values, and individual philosophies of life. Personal ideologies of humanitarian aid can root a deep desire to provide help and assistance to the vulnerable within our community. This desire often manifests itself specifically in clinicians seeking to provide healing, hope, and restoration in the lives of women and men. (Thullesen, 2019). Human trafficking is a prominent human rights and social justice issue that is embedded within our society. This study focused on clinicians’ experiences and perspectives in working with victims of human trafficking.

The data was collected through interviews of clinicians working directly …


Uncovering The "Hidden Crime" Of Human Trafficking By Empowering Individuals To Respond, Laura Shoop Jun 2020

Uncovering The "Hidden Crime" Of Human Trafficking By Empowering Individuals To Respond, Laura Shoop

Georgia State University Law Review

This Note will examine current state law promoting awareness of human trafficking and identification of trafficking survivors in the United States and make recommendations as to what further measures, if any, state legislators should take to increase awareness, identification, and reporting of human trafficking. Part I explains the history and development of human trafficking legislation at the federal and state levels. Part II analyzes the methods that states currently use to promote public awareness and identification. Part III discusses a proposal for amending current state law to better encourage and facilitate awareness of human trafficking and the identification and reporting …


Bound By Silence: Psychological Effects Of The Traditional Oath Ceremony Used In The Sex Trafficking Of Nigerian Women And Girls, Jennifer Millett-Barrett Jun 2019

Bound By Silence: Psychological Effects Of The Traditional Oath Ceremony Used In The Sex Trafficking Of Nigerian Women And Girls, Jennifer Millett-Barrett

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Nigerian women and children have been trafficked to Italy over the last 30 years for commercial sexual exploitation with an alarming increase in the past three years. The Central Mediterranean Route that runs from West African countries to Italy is rife with organized crime gangs that have created a highly successful trafficking operation. As part of the recruitment process, the Nigerian mafia and its operatives exploit victims by subjecting them to a traditional religious juju oath ceremony, which is an extremely effective control mechanism to silence victims and trap them in debt bondage. This study explores the psychological effects of …


Exited Prostitution Survivor Policy Platform, Marian Hatcher, Alisa L. Bernard, Allison Franklin, Audrey Morrissey, Beth Jacobs, Cherie Jimenez, Kathi Hardy, Marlene Carson, Nikki Bell, Rebecca Bender, Rebekah Charleston, Shamere Mckenzie, Vednita Carter Dec 2018

Exited Prostitution Survivor Policy Platform, Marian Hatcher, Alisa L. Bernard, Allison Franklin, Audrey Morrissey, Beth Jacobs, Cherie Jimenez, Kathi Hardy, Marlene Carson, Nikki Bell, Rebecca Bender, Rebekah Charleston, Shamere Mckenzie, Vednita Carter

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Survivors of prostitution propose a policy reform platform including three main pillars of priority: criminal justice reforms, fair employment, and standards of care. The sexual exploitation of prostituted individuals has lasting effects which can carry over into many aspects of life. In order to remedy these effects and give survivors the opportunity to live a full and free life, we must use a survivor-centered approach to each of these pillars to create change. First, reform is necessary in the criminal justice system to recognize survivors as victims of crime and not perpetrators, while holding those who exploited them fully responsible. …


Texas Foster Care Service Providers’ Awareness And Perceptions Of Human Trafficking And Related Risk Factors Among Child Welfare Involved Youth, Kennedy Morrison Aug 2018

Texas Foster Care Service Providers’ Awareness And Perceptions Of Human Trafficking And Related Risk Factors Among Child Welfare Involved Youth, Kennedy Morrison

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study is to explore foster care service providers’ levels of awareness of human trafficking, exploitation, and related risk factors as experienced by foster youth, and to explore what factors influence those levels of awareness. The study entailed distributing a digital survey to foster care service providers in a snowballing method and encouraging them to send the survey to others. The survey found a statistically significant relationship between awareness/identification of risk factors and identification of exploitation, and the respondent’s previous human trafficking training. This supports the literature which indicates trafficking specific training is necessary to identify trafficking …


The Intersections Of Good Intentions, Criminality, And Anti-Carceral Feminist Logic: A Qualitative Study That Explores Sex Trades Content In Social Work Education, Meg Rose Panichelli Jul 2018

The Intersections Of Good Intentions, Criminality, And Anti-Carceral Feminist Logic: A Qualitative Study That Explores Sex Trades Content In Social Work Education, Meg Rose Panichelli

Dissertations and Theses

This study uses anti-carceral feminist logic to explore the cultural meanings, criminal implications, and neoliberal influence that shape the landscape of social work education about the sex trades in the United States and transnationally. "What are social work instructors teaching students about the sex trades in coursework?" is the question that directs the study, which uses a feminist qualitative methodology inclusive of intersectional feminist epistemology as well as direct content analysis. To answer this question, I analyzed 20 social work course syllabi from sex trade related courses across the contiguous United States and interviewed 20 social work instructors from 14 …


Sex Industry Advocates Aim To Decriminalize Prostitution In New Hampshire, Kelly Roy-Williams, Lisa Thompson, Donna M. Hughes Dr. Feb 2017

Sex Industry Advocates Aim To Decriminalize Prostitution In New Hampshire, Kelly Roy-Williams, Lisa Thompson, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

There is an organized effort in New Hampshire to fully decriminalize prostitution. What that means is that all laws controlling the buying and selling of sex will be removed from the law books, making prostitution legal. Law enforcement and public officials will then have no control over if, when, and where prostitution occurs, whether it’s in massage parlors (often called spas), hotels, apartments, residences, or strip clubs. Because commercial sex will be legal, pimps and “sex workers” will be able to freely advertise prostitution services. Pimps will be able to openly recruit women and girls into prostitution, without fear of …


Welcome To Dignity, Donna M. Hughes Dr. Oct 2016

Welcome To Dignity, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

No abstract provided.


Analysis Of Cases Of Human Trafficking In Rhode Island, 2009-2013, Faith Skodmin, Rachel Dunham, Donna M. Hughes Dr. Mar 2016

Analysis Of Cases Of Human Trafficking In Rhode Island, 2009-2013, Faith Skodmin, Rachel Dunham, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

This article is an analysis of law enforcement identified cases of human trafficking in Rhode Island from 2009 to 2013. Information was collected from police and court records, prosecutors’ press releases, and reports in the media. During this period, there was one case of forced labor of a domestic worker and six cases of domestic sex trafficking. Many of the characteristics of the Rhode Island cases were consistent with other human trafficking cases in the United States. Discussions of key findings include (a) outcomes of a criminal case using a new human trafficking statute on fraud in foreign contracting and …


A Content Analysis Of Backpage.Com Advertisements In Louisville, Kentucky, Theresa C. Hayden Sep 2014

A Content Analysis Of Backpage.Com Advertisements In Louisville, Kentucky, Theresa C. Hayden

Faculty Scholarship

Backpage.com and Craigslist are replacing the street corner as a crime source for buying and selling of sex. “To reduce commercial sexual exploitation and enforce existing trafficking laws, communities must first recognize the extent of the problem within their local area (Janson, Mann, Marro, & Matvey, 2013, 99). In a population density study conducted in 15 major U. S. cities, it was found that males over 18 years of age who buy sex online ranged from 0.6% in San Francisco to 21.4% in Houston (Roe-Sepoqitz, Hickle, Gallagher, Smith, & Hedberg, 2013). Researchers in the Greater Cincinnati area found a high …


San Bernardino County Social Workers' Level Of Assessment Skills And Knowledge Of Resources On Victims Of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking, Elizabeth Marie Alvarado-Estrada, Juanita Maria Angelica. Guevara Jan 2013

San Bernardino County Social Workers' Level Of Assessment Skills And Knowledge Of Resources On Victims Of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking, Elizabeth Marie Alvarado-Estrada, Juanita Maria Angelica. Guevara

Theses Digitization Project

There were two implications for this study. The first would be to conduct a more complex and in-depth survey and data analysis for researchers to gain a better understanding of the professionals and their needs to serve the population. The second implication would be to incorporate training on assessment skills and resource knowledge for minor victims of sex trafficking in the education of new social workers. This study was done within the San Bernardino County Children and Family Services.


Risk Assessment For Sex Trafficking Victimization In The Mental Health Field, Kimberly Dawn Nichole Mena Jan 2013

Risk Assessment For Sex Trafficking Victimization In The Mental Health Field, Kimberly Dawn Nichole Mena

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this research project was to examine mental health workers' knowledge about sex trafficking, ability to assess for sex trafficking victimization and existence of educaiton and training about sex trafficking in the social work field. The study showed that participants were not educated on sex trafficking while obtaining their Master of Social Work degree. It was also found that risk assessment for sex trafficking and having a standardized risk assessment instrument would be beneficial.


Human Trafficking In San Luis Obispo County: Assessing The Local Law Enforcement's Mechanisms For Prevention, Paige K. Wopschall Mar 2011

Human Trafficking In San Luis Obispo County: Assessing The Local Law Enforcement's Mechanisms For Prevention, Paige K. Wopschall

Social Sciences

No abstract provided.


The Citizens Were Heard, Donna M. Hughes Dr. Oct 2009

The Citizens Were Heard, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

Congratulations to the citizens of Rhode Island and national anti-trafficking advocates for the legislative victory in Rhode Island. This past week, the Rhode Island Assembly passed an unprecedented pieces of legislation that will protect victims from sex industry predators and give law enforcement the tools they need to arrest pimps, traffickers, and “johns.” 


Human Trafficking And Global Policy: A Study On The Casual Factors Of Human Trafficking, Ashley Margarida Apr 2009

Human Trafficking And Global Policy: A Study On The Casual Factors Of Human Trafficking, Ashley Margarida

Social Work Theses

Victims of human trafficking may be exploited for prostitution, sweatshop labor, domestic work, and as child soldiers for armed conflicts. Elements of human trafficking include deception, recruitment, transportation, coercion, exploitation, and forced labor. Statistics of individuals trafficked vary according to source, but it is estimated that 700,000 to 4 million individuals become new victims of human trafficking every year. The literature on policies pertaining to human trafficking demonstrates a lack of international collaboration and inattention to the causal factors associated with human trafficking. This studied hypothesized that a positive relationship exists between a country’s view on prostitution, tolerance of male …