Risk Factor Patterns in Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Relationships

Domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST) is the commercial sexual exploitation of a minor citizen or legal resident within United States borders. Officials often view DMST as a monolithic crime, rather than a problem driven by victims’ variable experiences with poverty, racism, and family dysfunction. The purpose of this study is to explore how various risk factors are associated with one another and with DMST victimization, particularly within specific subcategories of DMST, such as trafficking by a family member, stranger, friend, or romantic partner. This study utilizes the archival data from 242 sex trafficked minors. The author coded the case files for the presence of risk factors, such as race, child welfare involvement, juvenile justice involvement, poverty, and more. Then, the author employed chi-square procedures to explore the association between risk factors, and between risk factors and victim-trafficker relationship type. Findings suggest that DMST victimization is not a uniform phenomenon, in which all victims share the same risks. There appears to be variations between the risk factors experienced by victims prior to entering specific relationship dynamics. Counter-trafficking advocates need to articulate these variations to the range of professionals who work within the systems that may prevent, identify, and remediate DMST.