Defining sex trafficking in children
One of the challenges in understanding sex trafficking in children is the varied and overlapping definitions that originate from sources primarily focused on policy and legislation issues (Musto, 2013). Here we discuss two primary definitions, commercially sexual exploited children and domestic minor sex trafficking. Commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is the abuse of, and crimes against children for sexual purposes in which a transaction of money or other goods/services are exchanged (Clayton, Krugman, & Simon, 2013). Domestic minor sex trafficking refers to US citizens and permanent residents who are children trafficked for sex in the United States. (Smith, Healy-Vardaman, & Snow, 2009; Smith, Mastrean, & Vardaman, 2010). The international guidelines of the Palermo protocol state that the term ‘trafficking’ applies to all youth under the age of 18, without the burden to prove coercion (United Nations, 2000). The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, designed to provide protection to trafficking survivors, goes further and defines sex trafficking of a minor under the age of 18 as “severe trafficking” (United Stated Department of Justice, 2000). Due to the overlapping definitions, we use the terms sex trafficked youth/survivors to refer to youth impacted by CSEC and DMST.
Characteristics of commercially sexually exploited children
The characteristics of sex trafficked youth have been detailed in several previous studies (Barnert et al., 2017; Clayton et al., 2013; Estes & Weiner, 2001; Franchino-Olsen, 2019; Greenbaum, 2014; Ijadi-Maghsoodi, Cook, Barnert, Gaboian, & Bath, 2016; Reid, 2012). As prior research indicates, there are numerous risk factors for becoming involved in commercial sexual exploitation; the age at which exploitation occurs plays a significant role and varies by risk factors. Studies have shown that some risk factors for early age onset are running away, homelessness, and lack of resources (Cobbina & Oselin, 2011; Martin, Hearst, & Widome, 2010; Murphy, 2017; Saewyc, MacKay, Anderson, & Drozda, 2008). Several studies report a history of abuse as a risk for early age involvement in commercial sexual exploitation (Cobbina & Oselin, 2011; Kramer & Berg, 2003; Loza et al., 2010; Roe-Sepowitz, 2012). Alternatively, lack of resources to provide for basic needs, unemployment, pregnancy at an early age, and having dependent children were more commonly associated with later age of entry into commercial sexual exploitation (Cobbina & Oselin, 2011; Loza et al., 2010).
Adverse childhood experiences are common among sex trafficked youth (Naramore, Bright, Epps, & Hardt, 2017). One study of trafficked youth participating in a specialty court reported that 92% of the sample had a child abuse report investigated and substantiated by child protective services (Cook, Barnert, Ijadi-Maghsoodi, Ports, & Bath, 2018). Several studies of justice-involved youth investigate differences in adverse childhood experiences between those who had been trafficked versus those who had not been trafficked and found that those who had been trafficked had higher odds of physical and sexual abuse, higher odds of emotional and physical neglect as well as family violence, compared to those with no trafficking history (Cole, Sprang, Lee, & Cohen, 2014; Reid, Baglivio, Piquero, Greenwald, & Epps, 2017; Wilson & Widom, 2010). Youth who experience abuse in their household may be more inclined to run away to flee the abuse (Cobbina & Oselin, 2011; Murphy, 2017). Because runaway youth often do not have the resources to care for themselves, they may be vulnerable to recruitment into trafficking or may rely on survival sex to meet basic necessities, such as food and shelter (Murphy, 2017), both of which are a form of commercial sexual exploitation on the part of the trafficker and purchaser of sex.
CSEC and length of time trafficked
The length of time youth are trafficked is an understudied area of research. Drawing from criminal justice research, it is clear that although “delinquent” behaviors tend to desist with age, the longer youth are engaged in delinquent behaviors the more challenging it is to change trajectories (Miller, Malone, Dodge,, & Conduct Problems Prevention Research, 2010; Ouderkerk & Ruppucci, 2010). A national study of youth and young adults involved in commercial sex reported that approximately 11% remained in “the life” for less than a year, 65% were involved for 1 to 4 years, and 24% spent 5 years or more in “the life” (Swaner et al., 2016). Escaping the trafficking situations proves very challenging for survivors, especially in the absence of the support necessary to escape and remain out of “the life”. Aside from the exploitation itself, other indicators of continued exploitation include episodes of running away, arrests/delinquency and truancy (Cole et al., 2014; Greenbaum, 2014). In a study among adult sex trafficking survivors, the longer victims spent in the trafficked situation the more difficult it was for them to respond to services made available to them (Muftic & Finn, 2013).
CSEC and justice involvement
Criminology research indicates that engagement in the juvenile justice system often leads to further delinquency and justice involvement (Ouderkerk & Ruppucci, 2010; Ryan, Williams, & Courtney, 2013). Relatedly, youth experience worse health and behavioral outcomes the longer they are involved in the juvenile justice system (Zajac, Sheidow, & Davis, 2015). In many states, sex trafficking survivors are repeatedly incarcerated for crimes related to their exploitation (Geist, 2012). Historically, the response to commercial sexual exploitation has been punitive, resulting in youth being cited and detained for offenses like prostitution (Musto, 2013; Swaner et al., 2016). From 2008 to 2018, approximately 260 youth were arrested for prostitution in the U.S., a gross under-representation of trafficking survivors (OJJDP, 2019). Youth caught in a commercial sex act may be cited for other offenses (Shared Hope International, 2018; Smith et al., 2009). For example, one-report states that only 16% of youth and young adults who report trading sex were arrested for prostitution, yet 65% of them reported being arrested for other citations (Swaner et al., 2016). Detainment for their exploitation or related offenses makes it challenging for sex trafficking survivors to disengage from the justice system without appropriate support.
CSEC and safe harbor policies
Each state mandates a legal age in which a person can legally consent to sexual activity. These laws often conflict with law enforcement action to arrest youth (who legally cannot consent to sex) for prostitution. Safe Harbor policies were enacted to address this conflict in the law. Safe Harbor policies are state-level legislations that dissuade prosecution of children who are trafficked, provides victims protection from the exploiter(s), and seek to prosecute exploiters and abusers (Polaris Project, 2014; Geist, 2012; Polaris Project, 2015; Wasch, Schilling Wolfe, Levitan, & Finck, 2016). These policies vary by state and offer either decriminalization, diversion, or a combination of both (Polaris Project, 2014; Wasch et al., 2016; Williams, 2017).
Partly due to Safe Harbor policies, law enforcement and juvenile courts began shifting from a punitive response to a restorative approach to CSEC; thus, moving away from charging youth with prostitution (Shared Hope International, 2018; Swaner et al., 2016; Wasch et al., 2016). As of 2016, there are 51 anti-trafficking courts currently operating in 18 states (Global Health Justice, 2018). Each specialty court operates differently and varies in the application of Safe Harbor policies. These courts have come under scrutiny by advocates in recent years. Although seen as an alternative to detention or incarceration by the justice system, advocates argue that such courts may not be as effective as some claim and may in fact re-traumatize and stigmatize participants (Kendis, 2019; Musto, 2013). Despite the burgeoning efforts across the country to develop specialized courts to address commercial sexual exploitation, the lack of well-established intervention strategies reflects a poor understanding of the unique needs of youth who participate in these programs and how best to deliver services.
Theoretical framework: age graded theory
The gendered and age-graded nature of sex trafficking presents a unique challenge to addressing the issue. Because sex trafficking recruitment is centered on traffickers exploiting the vulnerabilities of their victims, it is unsurprising that children, who are reliant upon legal guardians to provide their basic needs and females, who have less social capital than do males, are often targets of traffickers’ efforts (Reid, 2012). Thus, the intersection of gender and age make adolescent girls vulnerable to recruitment into sex trafficking. In an effort to contextualize the factors that contribute to justice related outcomes for trafficked girls participating in a specialty court program, we apply portions of the Age-Graded Theory of Informal Social Control developed by Sampson and Laub (Laub & Sampson, 1993). The theory postulates that instability and disruptions in social control processes, like family unity, hinders children’s ability to develop positive social bonds. These social control processes during childhood and adolescence influence the risk of involvement in juvenile delinquency (Laub & Sampson, 1993).
Chohaney (2016) expanded the application of Age-Graded Theory of Informal Social Control, highlighting the influence of informal social control processes on victimization during childhood and adolescence. Reid and Piquero (2014) and Chohaney (2016), stress the adverse role that caregiver problems, unstable upbringing, family violence, delinquent siblings and peers, and lack of school involvement may contribute to vulnerability to CSEC (Chohaney, 2016; Reid & Piquero, 2014).
Given the potential adverse effects and harmful consequences frequently associated with CSEC, some researchers emphasize identifying age-graded risks and life circumstances that make adolescents vulnerable to becoming involved in commercial sexual exploitation (Reid, 2012; Wilson & Widom, 2010). Risk factors have varying impact on entry into sex trafficking depending on age or developmental life stage. Age of entry, or age of delinquency onset has been a common focus in the criminal career literature (Farrington et al., 1990). To understand pathways into trafficking, Reid and Piquero established the importance of age of onset of offending (2014). Research investigating the correlates of onset as well as the link between age of onset/ entry and subsequent offending patterns shows that an early age of onset is predictive of a longer delinquency/criminal trajectory (Piquero, Farrington, & Blumstein, 2003).
While prior research sought to understand the age-graded predictors of entry into commercial sex trafficking, the current study fills a gap in the literature by not only seeking to further contextualize the role of age and delinquency but to also assess the age-graded predictors of desistance among girls with a history of sex trafficking victimization. Taking this approach to Age Graded Theory, we conceptualize the age in which trafficked youth receive their first citation as the start of their justice involvement and enrollment into the anti-trafficking program as the social capital impetus to desist from further justice involvement. We capture risk for continued justice involvement using the number of bench warrants received, number of run-away episodes, and number of new citations after enrolling in the anti-trafficking program. We expect to find that trafficked youth who enter the juvenile justice system at younger ages and who stay in the justice system longer without proper services to address their trauma will have worse justice-related outcomes over time.
Data
We used secondary data from a specialty anti-trafficking court program for survivors of commercial sexual exploitation within a southern California juvenile delinquency court system. Case files consist of administrative data collected from multiple sources including: the juvenile court, the department of children services, and other youth serving agencies. The specialty court offers resources and services to address trauma associated with trafficking and seeks to prevent further justice involvement. Unlike standard juvenile courts, this specialty court encourages regular court appearances to ensure that the needs of the participant are being met by the appointed service agencies. Consistent court appearances are an indication of active program engagement. Additional details about the program and participants is published elsewhere (Cook et al., 2018).
Data for this study were extracted from juvenile case files for the program from 2012 to 2014 (n = 184) and include demographic characteristics, mental health status, alcohol and substance use, child protective services history, and citation and detention history. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate analyses were performed to examine four justice characteristics measures—bench warrants, citations, running away, and placements. All participants were cis-gendered female and 74% were African American and 96% were US citizens. One participant went 72 months between first citation and program entry; we deleted this observation due to its status as an outlier. Two participants were missing information on abuse history and were excluded from analyses; analyses utilize information from 181 participants.