Victims of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking

Abstract

It is estimated that between 100,000 and 300,000 American children and youth are sexually exploited annually for commercial purposes. A significant proportion of the child victims of domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST) are runaways, street youths who engage in survival sex. Many victims of DMST have been sexually exploited either at home or elsewhere. It is estimated that the average age at which a girl is recruited into prostitution by traffickers is 12 to 14 years. The majority of the people who engage in the sexual exploitation of minors are men between the ages of 20 and 65. Child pornography and juvenile prostitution are examples of the sexual exploitation of children. Victims of DMST and offenders reflect all strata of American society. This entry examines the problem of DMST and the effectiveness of the laws which protect children from sexual exploitation.

Overcoming disclosure reluctance in youth victims of sex trafficking: New directions for research, policy, and practice.

“…The true prevalence of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) is extremely difficult to determine. In the United States, the number of children and adolescents formally identified as victims of domestic sexual trafficking, for example, exceeds 100,000 annually (Siskin & Wyler, 2012; Schauer & Elechi, 2014). However, this estimate likely significantly underestimates the true prevalence of commercial exploitation (Clawson, Dutch, Solomon, & Goldblatt Grace, 2009), because objective evidence (e.g., photographs, videos) is rare, unless the exploitation involves pornography.…”