New Hampshire Juvenile Sex Trafficking Survivor Urges Representatives to Vote Against Decriminalized Prostitution

2009

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Journal of Applied Research on Children Informing Policy For Children at Risk, 2011

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American Criminal Law Review, 2000

Despite the United States’commitment to decriminalizing victims of sex trafficking and the obvious injustice of subjecting these victims to criminal penalties, the majority of jurisdictions throughout the United States continue to treat sex trafficking victims as criminals. This essay argues that the criminal law must abandon this practice. Part One presents a brief account of definitional and conceptual debates regarding what counts as sex trafficking. Part Two explains why we must decriminalize its victims. Part Three outlines four methods of decriminalizing sex trafficking victims, and defends what has come to be known as the “Nordic model” as the most effective means of achieving decriminalization.

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Social Inclusion, 2015

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Victims and Offenders, 2019

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2017

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Human trafficking in all its forms is a violent violation of human rights against those who are most vulnerable in societies. It is one of the most rapidly expanding coordinated industries. Human trafficking, also known as Trafficking in Persons (TIP), involves the exploitation of individuals for labor or sexual exploitation by force, fraud, or coercion, in a way that directly benefits a third party. Victims are vulnerable to being trafficked because of their socio-economic and safety conditions. They are preyed upon by traffickers with false promises of a better life, but the traffickers’ sole interest is maximizing their profits by buying and selling human beings. Because of internet coordination, trafficking has become one of the most successful global illicit trades, surpassing gun and drug trafficking. This is because traffickers are able to maximize profits by selling a girl or woman repeatedly. Sexual exploitation, a type of human trafficking, is when an individual is engaged in sex for a fee as a result of force, coercion, or fraud. It is a complex problem that requires coordinated efforts on multiple levels for effective prevention, intervention, and rehabilitation. These efforts can only succeed through close partnerships between the legislature, law enforcement, the community, social services, the public sector, private entities, and survivors in leadership positions. The aims of this report are to: 1. provide an overview about sex trafficking, including exploitation. globally and in the U.S.; 2. examine the vulnerabilities and risks that lead to trafficking and exploitation; 3. examine the patterns of sex trafficking and exploitation in Massachusetts; and 4. recommend strategies that have demonstrated effectiveness in addressing trafficking.

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2015

Current social and political realties have focused attention on human trafficking in the United States. Although new mechanisms for criminalizing offenders and protecting victims are increasingly funded and implemented across the country, empirical exploration into the efficacy of these interventions is lacking. This article uses yearly count data on juvenile prostitution arrests aggregated at the state level to explore the criminalization of commercial sexually exploited children post safe harbor policy implementation. Preliminary data from four states suggests that the passage of safe harbor laws may not reduce the number of juveniles arrested for prostitution crimes. Implications for future research are discussed.

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2012

The author(s) shown below used Federal funds provided by the U.S. Department of Justice and prepared the following final report:

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2015

Current social and political realties have focused attention on human trafficking in the United States. Although new mechanisms for criminalizing offenders and protecting victims are increasingly funded and implemented across the country, empirical exploration into the efficacy of these interventions is lacking. This article uses yearly count data on juvenile prostitution arrests aggregated at the state level to explore the criminalization of commercial sexually exploited children post safe harbor policy implementation. Preliminary data from four states suggests that the passage of safe harbor laws may not reduce the number of juveniles arrested for prostitution crimes. Implications for future research are discussed.

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