DOMESTIC MINOR SEX TRAFFICKING: THE REALITIES, PERCEPTIONS, AND IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH, TREATMENT, POLICY AND ACTION

Abstract

This honors thesis addresses the pervasiveness of the sex trafficking of minors in the United States, more specifically in Pima County, Arizona. Sex trafficking is one of the most prevalent epidemics in the world. It generates over US$99 billion each year. It most widely involves women and children who do not have the resources or knowledge to escape or remove themselves from the captivity of sex trafficking. Minors at high-risk for entering the sex trafficking industry are marginalized by their sex, sexual identity, financial status, ethnicity, disability, and more. While there are in-depth interventions for human trafficking worldwide, there are few that focus specifically on minors ages 18 and under who live in the United States. As a result, the average American does not know how to address sex trafficking of minors in their own city, let alone their own neighborhood. This initiated the beginning of an interventional program titled “Sex Trafficking Education and Prevention Program” (STEPP). This intervention builds up the protective factors while reducing the risk factors each individual has for entering in the sex trafficking industry. Hopefully this paper will provide the groundwork for action against sex trafficking for the benefit of all victims.