Correlates of Youth Sex Trafficking in the United States: The Role of the Environment in Shaping Vulnerability and Demand

Abstract

This study explores potential correlates of youth sex trafficking (YST) within the exosystem and macrosystem of the social-ecological model (SEM). A literature review of studies (n = 25) published between 2012 and 2024 identified factors linked to YST vulnerability and demand, including factors related to land use, concentrated disadvantage, the digital environment, and the built and social environment. Protective factors in the exosystem and macrosystem, such as strong community ties and anti-trafficking education and legislation, were also noted. Findings highlight the need for broader research on environmental predictors of YST, as predictive variables have the capacity to inform YST prevention strategies.

Keywords

prostitution/sex work adolescent victims sexual assault youth violence community violence child abuse

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Barrick

Pfeffer

(2024). Advances in measurement: A scoping review of prior human trafficking prevalence studies and recommendations for future research. Journal of Human Trafficking, 10(1), 1–19.

Belsky

(1980). Child maltreatment: An ecological integration. American Psychologist, 35(4), 320–335. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.35.4.320

Bowers

(2014). Risky facilities: Crime radiators or crime absorbers? A comparison of internal and external levels of theft. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 30(3), 389–414. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43552159

Bronfenbrenner

(1977) Toward an experimental ecology of human development. American Psychology, 32(7), 513–531. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.32.7.513

Brown

Q. L.

Cavanaugh

C. E.

Penniman

T. V.

Latimer

W. W.

(2012). The impact of homelessness on recent sex trade among pregnant women in drug treatment. Journal of Substance Use, 17, 287–293.

Busch-Armendariz

Levy Nale

Kammer-Kerwick

Kellison

Maldonado Torres

M. I.

Cook Heffron

Nehme

(2016). Human trafficking by the numbers: The initial benchmark of prevalence and economic impact for Texas. https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/ad6f46f9-f668-408b-93da-60879061a8eb/content

Chin

J. J.

Kim

A. J.

Takahashi

Wiebe

D. J.

(2015). Do sexually oriented massage parlors cluster in specific neighborhoods? A Spatial Analysis of Indoor Sex Work in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, California. Public Health Reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974), 130(5), 533–542. https://doi.org/10.1177/003335491513000516

Cho

S. Y.

Dreher

Neumayer

(2013). Does legalized prostitution increase human trafficking?. World Development, 41, 67–82.

Choi

K. R.

(2015). Risk factors for domestic minor sex trafficking in the United States: A literature review. Journal of Forensic Nursing, 11(2), 66–76. https://doi.org/10.1097/JFN.0000000000000072

10.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, January 18). The Social-Ecological Model: A Framework for Prevention. National center for injury prevention and control, division of violence prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/about/social-ecologicalmodel.html

11.

Cockbain

Bowers

Hutt

(2022). Examining the geographies of human trafficking: Methodological challenges in mapping trafficking’s complexities and connectivities. Applied Geography, 139, 102643, 1–16.

12.

Committee on National Statistics. (2019). Committee on Population, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Estimating the prevalence of human trafficking in the United States: Considerations and complexities. In White

(Ed.), Proceedings of a workshop. National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25614

13.

Crotty

S. M.

Bouché

(2018) The red-light network: Exploring the locational strategies of illicit massage businesses in Houston, Texas. Papers in Applied Geography, 4:2, 205–227. https://doi.org/10.1080/23754931.2018.1425633

14.

Crowe

Fennelly

(2013). Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED). Oxford, UK: Butterworth-Heinemann.

15.

Deering

K.N.

Rusch

Amram

Chettiar

Nguyen

Feng

C.X.

Shannon

(2014). Piloting a ’spatial isolation’ index: The built environment and sexual and drug use risks to sex workers. Int J Drug Policy, 25(3), 533–542. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2013.12.002.

16.

de Vries

. (2022). Examining the geography of illicit massage businesses hosting commercial sex and sex trafficking in the United States: The role of census tract and city-level factors. Crime & Delinquency, 69(11), 2218–2242. https://doi.org/10.1177/00111287221090952

17.

Diaz

Huff-Corzine

Corzine

(2022). Demanding reduction: A county-level analysis examining structural determinants of human trafficking arrests in Florida. Crime & Delinquency, 68(1), 28–51.

18.

Fedina

(2015). Use and misuse of research in books on sex trafficking: Implications for interdisciplinary researchers, practitioners, and advocates. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 16(2), 188–198.

19.

Fedina

Williamson

Perdue

(2019). Risk factors for domestic child sex trafficking in the United States. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 34(13), 2653–2673. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260516662306

20.

Franchino-Olsen

(2021). Frameworks and theories relevant for organizing commercial sexual exploitation of children/domestic minor sex trafficking risk factors: A systematic review of proposed frameworks to conceptualize vulnerabilities. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 22(2), 306–317. https://doi-org.ezproxy.tcu.edu/10.1177/1524838019849575

21.

Gerassi

(2015). From exploitation to industry: Definitions, risks, and consequences of domestic sexual exploitation and sex work among women and girls. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 25(6), 591–605. https://doi.org/10.1080/10911359.2014.991055

22.

Gillis

A. R.

Hagan

(1982). Density, delinquency, and design: Formal and informal control and the built environment. Criminology, 19(4), 514–529. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.1982.tb00436.x

23.

Hadjiyanni

Povlitzki

Preble

(2014). The placeness of sex trafficking—Instilling consciousness through Minnesota’s experience. Journal of Interior Design, 39, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1111/joid.12019

24.

Helderop

Huff

Morstatter

Grubesac

Wallace

(2019). Hidden in plain sight: A machine learning approach for detecting prostitution activity in Phoenix, Arizona. Appl. Spatial Analysis 12, 941–963. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12061-018-9279-1

25.

Hewitt

A. N.

Beauregard

Andersen

M. A.

Brantingham

P. L.

(2018). Identifying the nature of risky places for sexual crime: The applicability of crime pattern and social disorganization theories in a Canadia context. Journal of Criminal Justice 57, 35–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2018.03.003

26.

Huff-Corzine

Sacra

S. A.

Corzine

Rados

(2017). Florida’s task force approach to combat human trafficking: an analysis of county-level data. Police Practice and Research, 18(3), 245–258. https://doi.org/10.1080/15614263.2017.1291567

27.

Ibanz

Gazan

(2016). Detecting sex trafficking circuits in the U.S. through analysis of online escort advertisements. 2016 IEEE/ACM International Conference on Advances in Social Networks Analysis and Mining (ASONAM) (pp. 892–895). https://doi.org/10.1109/ASONAM.2016.7752344.

28.

Jacobs

(1992). The death and life of great American cities (Vintage Books ed.). Vintage Books.

29.

Johnson

K. D.

(2005). Illicit sexual activity in public places: (313752005-001). https://doi.org/10.1037/e313752005-001

30.

Kakar

(2024). Urban settings and human trafficking—A crossroads of the perfect storm for crime perpetration and ideal environment for crime prevention. Urban Crime, 3(1), 8–32. 10.26250/heal.panteion.uc.v3i1.274.

31.

Kangaspunta

(2003). Mapping the inhuman trade: Preliminary findings of the database on trafficking in human beings. Forum on Crime and Society, 3(1), pp. 81–103).

32.

Kenny

Helpingstine

Long

Harrington

(2019). Assessment of commercially sexually exploited girls upon entry to treatment: Confirmed vs. at-risk victims. Child Abuse & Neglect, 100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.104040

33.

Lopez

J.J.

Almquist

Thomas

(2020). The geography of prostitution arrests in Virginia, USA, 2002–2013. Crime Law Soc Change, 73, 133–157. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-019-09854-5

34.

McCoy

(2019). Measurements of vulnerability to domestic minor sex trafficking: A systematic review. Journal of Human Trafficking, 5(1), 1–12.

35.

Mletzko

Summers

Arnio

A. N.

(2018). Spatial patterns of urban sex trafficking. Journal of Criminal Justice, 58, 87–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2018.07.008

36.

Reid

J. A.

(2012). Exploratory review of route-specific, gendered, and age-graded dynamics of exploitation: Applying life course theory to victimization in sex trafficking in North America. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 17, 257–271. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2012.02.005

37.

Rezaeian

Dunn

St Leger

Appleby

(2007). Geographical epidemiology, spatial analysis and geographical information systems: A multidisciplinary glossary. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 61(2), 98–102.

38.

Richmond

J.C.

(2020). The prevalence reduction innovation forum. https://2017-2021.state.gov/the-prevalence-reduction-innovation-forum/index.html

39.

Roe-Sepowitz

D. E.

Hickle

K. E.

Cimino

(2012). The impact of abuse history and trauma symptoms on successful completion of a prostitution-exiting program. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 22, 65–77.

40.

Roe-Sepowitz

(2019). A six-year analysis of sex traffickers of minors: exploring characteristics and sex trafficking patterns. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 29(5), 608–629. https://doi.org/10.1080/10911359.2019.1575315

41.

Sanchez

R. V.

Pacquiao

D. F.

(2018). An ecological approach toward prevention and care of victims of domestic minor sex trafficking. Journal of Forensic Nursing, 14(2), 98–105. https://doi.org/10.1097/JFN.0000000000000205

42.

Schweitzer

J. H.

Kim

J. W.

Mackin

J. R.

(1999). The impact of the built environment on crime and fear of crime in urban neighborhoods. Journal of Urban Technology, 6(3), 59–73. https://doi.org/10.1080/10630739983588

43.

Sherman

L. W.

(1995). Hot spots of crime and criminal careers of places. In Eck

J. E.

Weisburd

(Eds.), Crime and places (Vol. 1, pp. 35–52). Crime Prevention Studies. Criminal Justice Press.

44.

Shively

Kliorys

Wheeler

Hunt

(2012). A national overview of prostitution and sex trafficking demand reduction efforts, final report. National Institute of Justice.

45.

Snowden

A. J.

(2016) Neighborhood characteristics contribute to urban alcohol availability: Accounting for race/ethnicity and social disorganization. Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, 15(4), 346–366. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332640.2015.1073644

46.

Suh

Natarajan

(2022). Hot spots of commercial sex activities in New York City neighborhoods: Lessons learned. Crime and Delinquency, 1112872211346-. https://doi.org/10.1177/00111287221134626

47.

Swaner

Labriola

Rempel

Walker

Spadafore

(2016). Youth involvement in the sex trade: A national study. Center for Court Innovation.

48.

Texas Department of Public Safety. (2014). Assessing the threat of human trafficking in Texas. https://www.dps.texas.gov/sites/default/files/documents/director_staff/media_and_communications/2014/txhumantraffickingassessment.pdf.

49.

Towers

A. E.

Navarro

J. N.

Holt

T. J.

(2022). Mapping as harm reduction: Using GIS to map chatter associated with sex work. Victims & Offenders, 17(5), 679–692. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2022.2036660

50.

Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 § 103(9), 22 U.S.C. § 7102(9) (2006)

51.

Tyldum

(2010). Limitations in research on human trafficking. International Migration, 48, 1–13. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2435.2009.00597.x

52.

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)_. (2021). United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and the protocols thereto. Retrieved from https://www.unodc.org/unodc/treaties/CTOC/

53.

Voloshin

Derevitskiy

Mukhina

Karbovskii

(2016). Identifying venues for female commercial sex work using spatial analysis of geocoded advertisements. Procedia Computer Science, 80, 345–355. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2016.05.349

54.

Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs. (2022). The Social Ecological Model. Retrieved from https://www.wcsap.org/prevention/concepts/social-ecological-model

55.

White

(Ed.). (2020). Estimating the prevalence of human trafficking in the United States: Considerations and complexities. In Proceedings of a workshop. National Academies Press.