Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking

Human trafficking is a thriving business around the world. Although attention had been focused initially on those who were trafficked over international borders for sexual exploitation, awareness has slowly increased of the trafficking of US citizens within its own borders, including its children. However, due to the still-evolving research on this issue, and the subsequent reliance on mass media, there is a lack of accurate knowledge about this crime that this book seeks to address. Pulling together scholarly information from diverse fields including social work, psychology, and biology, Susan Mapp explores the particular risk factors (such as poverty, child maltreatment, and being a sexual minority) that place children at higher risk for being trafficked. The different methods of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking (DMST)--pimp-controlled, gang-controlled, familial, and survival - are explained, including how children come to be involved in them and the mechanisms by which they occur. Assisting those being trafficked to leave the life is a difficult process, and this book explains why. It is important for everyone to act on what can be done to fight this crime; suggestions for professionals, as well as 'everyday citizens,' are offered, together with a list of resources.