KTD Labor, Trafficking, Youth

The Prevalence and Correlates of Labor and Sex Trafficking in a Community Sample of Youth Experiencing Homelessness in Metro-Atlanta

Authors: Eric R. Wright, Ana LaBoy, Kara Tsukerman, Nicholas Forge, Erin Ruel, Renee Shelby, Madison Higbee, Zoe Webb, Melanie Turner-Harper, Asantewaa Darkwa and Cody Wallace

Published in Social Sciences, January 2021

Abstract

Research suggests that runaway and homeless youth (RHY) in the United States are vulnerable to sex and labor trafficking. In this paper, we report and analyze estimates of sex and labor trafficking collected as part of the Atlanta Youth Count 2018, a community-based field survey of RHY between the ages of 14 and 25 in the metro-Atlanta area. A total of 564 participants were recruited and completed a survey that included questions about their backgrounds as well as the Human Trafficking Screening Tool (HTST). We found that 39.9% experienced some form of trafficking while homeless. While 15.6% of the youth reported commercial sexual exploitation while homeless, coerced labor (29.3%) or fraud (25.2%) were even more common experiences. Women, transgender, and gender nonconforming youth, as well young people who had prior system involvement and those who had been homeless for more than a year were the most likely to report having been trafficked. The significance of these findings for research and policy on RHY and trafficking are discussed.

KTD Client Violence, Criminalization, Harm Reduction, Police violence, Sexual Violence, Trafficking, Youth

Girls Do What They Have to Do to Survive: Illuminating Methods Used by Girls in the Sex Trade and Street Economy to Fight Back and Heal

Girls Do What They Have to Do to Survive: Illuminating Methods Used by Girls in the Sex Trade and Street Economy to Fight Back and Heal

Young Women’s Empowerment Project, YWEP, 2009.

Description:

We do not deny the fact that girls in the sex trade face violence. We decided that we would do this research to show that we are not just objects that violence happens to- but that we are active participants in fighting back and bouncing back. We wanted to move away from the one-dimensional view of girls in the sex trade as only victims to look at all aspects of the situation:
violence, our response to the violence, how we fight back and heal on a daily basis. We want to build our community by figuring out how we can and do fight back collectively and the role of resilience in keeping girls strong enough to resist.

KTD Client Violence, Harm Reduction, Police violence, Sexual Violence, Trafficking, Youth

Bad Encounter Line

Bad Encounter Line

Young Women’s Empowerment Project (YWEP) 2012.

Description:

The Bad Encounter Line was developed in response to the research. In the research, we saw that girls were facing tons of violence every day, and the highest number of them came from institutions. Everyone collectively knew that we wanted to find ways to fight back, and the idea of warning girls and making a form that girls could share how they fought back was one of our first goals. We use the BEL as a way to warn youth about experiences with institutional
violence. The goal is to inform youth and strategize ways to use harm reduction with institutions if they still need services. This process can also help youth find other ways to take care of themselves without needing to use institutions. We use the information from the data to guide our campaigns that directly help change the way systems work.

KTD LGBTQ, Youth

Serving Our Youth: Findings from a National Survey of Service Providers Working with LGBT Youth who are Homeless or At Risk of Becoming Homeless

Authors: Soon Kyu Choi, B. Wilson, J. Shelton, G. Gates

Serving Our Youth: Findings from a National Survey of Service Providers Working with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth who are Homeless or At Risk of Becoming Homeless.

Los Angeles: The Williams Institute with True Colors Fund and The Palette Fund. 2012.

Abstract:

This report summarizes findings from the 2014 LGBTQ Homeless Youth Provider Survey, a survey of 138 youth homelessness human service agency providers. The survey explored LGBTQ youth access to services, the needs of LGBTQ youth, and reasons for success in serving LGBTQ homeless youth.

KTD Criminalization, Harm Reduction, LGBTQ, Trafficking, Youth

Surviving the Streets of New York: Experiences of LGBTQ Youth, YMSM, and YWSW Engaged in Survival Sex

Meredith Dank, Jennifer Yahner, Kuniko Madden, Isela Banuelos, Lilly Yu, Andrea Ritchie, Mitchyll Mora, Brendan Conner

Surviving the Streets of New York: Experiences of LGBTQ Youth, YMSM, and YWSW Engaged in Survival Sex

Urban Institute. February 25, 2015.

Abstract:

Based on interviews with 283 youth in New York City, this is the first study to focus on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ) youth; young men who have sex with men (YMSM); and young women who have sex with women (YWSW) who get involved in the commercial sex market in order to meet basic survival needs, such as food or shelter. The report documents these youth’s experiences and characteristics to gain a better understanding of why they engage in survival sex, describes how the support networks and systems in their lives have both helped them and let them down, and makes recommendations for better meeting the needs of this vulnerable population.

KTD Criminalization, Harm Reduction, Police violence, Trafficking, Youth

Locked in: Interactions with the Criminal Justice and Child Welfare Systems for LGBTQ Youth, YMSM and YWSW who Engage in Survival Sex

Authors: Dank, M.; Yu, L.; Yahner, J.; Pelletier, E.; Mora, M.; Conner, B.

Locked in: Interactions with the Criminal Justice and Child Welfare Systems for LGBTQ Youth, YMSM and YWSW who Engage in Survival Sex

Urban Institute, Sept 2015

Abstract:

This report focuses on LGBTQ youth who become involved in the commercial sex market to meet basic survival needs, describing their experiences with law enforcement, the criminal justice system, and the child welfare system. Interviews with these youth reveal that over 70 percent had been arrested at least once, with many reporting frequent arrest for “quality-of-life” and misdemeanor crimes other than prostitution offenses. Youth described their experiences of being cycled in and out of the justice system as highly disruptive and generating far-reaching collateral consequences ranging from instability in the home and school to inability to pay fines and obtain lawful employment. This report is part of a larger three-year Urban Institute study of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ) youth; young men who have sex with men (YMSM); and young women who have sex with women (YWSW) engaged in survival sex.

KTD Trafficking, Youth

Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in New York City, Volume One: The CSEC Population in New York City: Size, Characteristics, and Needs

Ric Curtis, Karen Terry, Meredith Dank, Kirk Dombrowski, Bilal Khan

Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in New York City, Volume One: The CSEC Population in New York City: Size, Characteristics, and Needs

Sponsored by the National Institute of Justice. 2008.

Description:

For the purposes of this study, commercially sexually exploited children are defined as juveniles (18 and under) who perform sexual acts in exchange for money, drugs, food or shelter. According to researchers and child advocates, the CSEC issue mostly affects: runaway and homeless youth who trade sex as a means of survival; children who have been sexually, physically and emotionally abused; juveniles with minimum education who are unable to find legitimate employment; and children who are vulnerable and easily controlled and manipulated by an adult looking to make a profit. This study of commercially sexually exploited children in New York City, and the City’s response to the problem, conducted by the Center for Court Innovation and John Jay College of Criminal Justice (see Volume Two for the background to the project), hopes to provide an empirical foundation that will better inform policy makers, professionals, researchers and advocates about the extent and nature of the problem.