How service providers and policymakers are interpreting sex trafficking is creating gaps that cause them to miss opportunities to better help victims, according to a University of Texas study on child trafficking.
As previously reported, trafficking occurs when an individual feels obligated through fear of violence or by dishonesty and coercion to engage in commercial sex, forced labor or domestic servitude.
The “To the Public, Nothing was Wrong with Me: Life Experiences of Minors and Youth in Texas at Risk for Commercial Sexual Exploitation" study found that the language trafficking victims and survivors used to reference their experiences was different from that used by the providers who were trying to serve them.
"This is our first glimpse into the scope and impact of human trafficking in Texas," said Institute on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault (IDVSA) Director Noël Busch-Armendariz, who led the study, in a statement online. "Few states have this kind of insight into the number of people being exploited and, more important, each count reflects a human being living among us in slavery-like conditions. Our findings certainly give us all a call to action.”
There are more than 300,000 victims of human trafficking in Texas, including almost 79,000 minors and youth victims of sex trafficking and nearly 234,000 adult victims of labor trafficking, according to a news release.
“We used their language when we asked if they had ever traded sex for something that they needed or felt forced to trade sex for something that they needed, and if it wasn't for something they needed, what did they do it for and we just talked to them about their experiences,” said Melissa Torres, an IDVSA researcher.
The homeless, migrant workers, children and adolescents in the foster care system are at higher-than-average risk for trafficking, according to data.
Torres made the following recommendations as part of a briefing webinar that’s posted on YouTube.
Healthy relationship education through trusted relationships for the youth to prevent trafficking
”Specifically working with kids who have presented these types of risks and vulnerabilities in the past and then training on trusted relationships for professionals in the field,” Torres said. “It's not just a family member or a friend. It was also, a lot of times, a case manager, a teacher, or a service provider somewhere where they had received services and felt they really trusted the person.”
Research shows that some $600 million is exploited from victims of labor trafficking in Texas annually while law enforcement, prosecution and social services cost some $6.5 billion.
Include a navigator to help the victim’s family, however they defined their family
“If there was abuse or lack of employment in the family, their situation wasn't going to go away," Torres said. "We recommend including family and also having a family navigator who can help and work with the family to meet those intersecting types of needs in service provision.”
Training for community-based service professionals
“We recommend not just focusing on those victims who have already been identified, but focusing on the different ways this happens to victims so that there can be prevention, intervention and overall identification of victims and survivors,” she said.
Cultural competency for service providers
“The youth and minors requested family services and that family be included so we believe there is a cultural aspect to this,” Torres said. “One of the cultural values in the Latino community is that decisions for an individual include the family. Understanding those needs and incorporating that into services is vital.”
