Juvenile Victims of Domestic Sex Trafficking: Juvenile Justice Issues (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Aug. 5, 2014 |
| Report Number |
R43677 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Kristin Finklea, Specialist in Domestic Security |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
There has been growing concern over sex trafficking of children in the United States. Demand for sex with children (and other forms of commercial sexual exploitation of children) is steady, and profit to sex traffickers has increased. Law enforcement is challenged not only by prosecuting traffickers and buyers of sex with children, but also by how to handle the girls and boys whose bodies are sexually exploited for profit.
Under the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA; P.L. 106-386), the primary law that addresses trafficking, sex trafficking of children is a federal crime; moreover, an individual under the age of 18 who is involved in commercial sex activities is considered a victim of these crimes. Despite this, at the state and local levels, juvenile victims of sex trafficking may at times be treated as criminals or juvenile delinquents rather than victims of crime. Of note, there are no comprehensive data that address the number of prostituted or otherwise sexually trafficked children, and there are limited studies on the proportion of these juveniles who are treated as offenders.
A number of factors may, alone or in combination, contribute to the criminalization of juvenile trafficking victims. One is a lack of victim identification and an awareness of key indicators that may help in identifying victims. Even in states that statutorily consider juveniles involved in commercial sex to be victims, law enforcement may not have received sufficient training to be able to identify victims. Another factor is a lack of secure shelters and specialized services for victims; despite knowing that the juvenile is a victim, law enforcement may charge the individual with a crime so as to place the victim into one of the only available safe and secure environmentsâa detention facility within the juvenile justice system.
Researchers and policy makers have suggested a number of options aimed at preventing minor trafficking victims from being caught up in the juvenile justice system and diverting them to programs and services that can help rehabilitate and restore these youth. These have included supporting law enforcement training on human trafficking, enhancing law enforcement and community partnerships, enacting safe harbor laws preventing the prosecution of victims as offenders, establishing diversion programs for juveniles involved in commercial sex, and establishing provisions to seal or expunge records of trafficked youth's involvement in the juvenile justice systems.
Because the federal government considers juveniles involved in prostitution as victims of trafficking, and because much of the policing to combat prostitution and sex traffickingâboth of adults and childrenâhappens at the state level, federal policy makers have considered how to influence states' treatment of trafficking victims (particularly minors) such that state policies are more in line with those of the federal government. Financial incentives from federal grants and victim compensation funds could be provided through a variety of avenues. These routes include TVPA-authorized grants, juvenile and criminal justice grants, Violence Against Women Act (VAWA; P.L. 113-4)-authorized grants, and the Crime Victims Fund.
