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Ambiguous Agency As A Diagnostic Of Power: Efforts Of Child Welfare Providers To Promote Responsible Agency Among Youth Involved In Sex Trades., Laura Johnson, Beth Sapiro, Catherine Buttner, Judy L. Postmus

Department of Social Work and Child Advocacy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Ambiguous agency is a term which has been used to describe the ways in which young people demonstrate their agency in ways that challenge traditional ideas about how youth are supposed to behave. State and nongovernmental actors, such as service providers, generally view these behaviors as deviant and have utilized a variety of interventions to transform these youth so that they engage in acts of responsible agency instead. This article will explore how the concept of ambiguous and responsible agency relate to youth involved in sex trades by analyzing the case records of eight youth who were identified as survivors …