Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Sex Trafficking Of Girls: How Sex Traffickers Exploit Youth And System Vulnerabilities, Joan Reid

USF St. Petersburg campus Faculty Publications

Sex traffickers often prey on vulnerability and employ manipulative tactics to create opportunity for exploitation. A review of 93 cases of sexually exploited girls and interviews with their case managers revealed that in approximately half of these cases exploitation in sex trafficking occurred after the girls had contact with child protective services and/or they had been placed in state care. The current study examined the links between the schemes and strategies of sex traffickers and various factors such as victim and situational characteristics observed in cases involving foster girls. Unique system-based practices – such as placing previously trafficked girls in …