Prevention of Sex Trafficking in the Youth Population

Publication Date

Spring 5-28-2025

Item Type

Text

Executive Summary

Prevention of Sex Trafficking in the Youth Population

Introduction

This quarter, a group of six nursing students partnered with an organization that provides compassionate support and resources to individuals who have experienced or are currently involved in the sex trade. This organization offers emergency services, trauma-informed care, and long-term recovery pathways focusing on safety, dignity, and empowerment. The student group was given the opportunity to develop a prevention-focused booklet that would be used to raise awareness about the early warning signs of sex trafficking and teach adults how to protect youth before exploitation occurs. Adolescents are being targeted and recruited at young ages through subtle and manipulative tactics, particularly online, and many of the adults in their lives may not have the tools or information to recognize and respond to these risks effectively (Real Escape from the Sex Trade, 2024). By offering clear, evidence-based content in a supportive and accessible format, the booklet aims to fill that gap and help invested adults become early protectors and advocates for vulnerable youth.

Sex trafficking is a widespread issue, with an estimated 2,000–3,000 individuals exploited each night in the greater Seattle and King County area. Over half of those impacted are also experiencing homelessness or housing instability, significantly increasing their vulnerability to exploitation (Real Escape from the Sex Trade, 2024). One organization actively working to combat this crisis was founded in 2009 by women with backgrounds in sexual assault and homeless youth services. Recognizing a lack of survivor-specific care, the organization began engaging directly with individuals experiencing exploitation. In response, they developed a trauma-informed model that offers emergency shelter, advocacy, behavioral health services, housing, and economic empowerment, all aimed at creating safe and sustainable pathways out of the sex trade.

To better understand the context surrounding this issue, a group of nursing students conducted a community windshield survey along Aurora Avenue and Rainier Avenue, two diversely populated and high-traffic corridors for sex trade in Seattle. While exploring, the students observed many unhoused individuals, untreated mental illness, and drug use. These factors increase vulnerability to exploitation, including sex trafficking. One study of 250 female street-based sex workers in Baltimore found that women who entered the sex trade before the age of 18 were 4.54 times more likely to experience homelessness (Footer et al., 2020). Additionally, the same study found “49.6% of women who entered below the age of 18 reported the need for basic necessities, such as food and housing” (Footer et al., 2020). Building on both their windshield survey and conversations with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Director of Survivor Services at the partner organization, the nursing students identified prevention of sex trafficking as a critical area of focus.

Activities with Rationale

Both the organization and student group felt passionately about the long-term impact of stopping exploitation before it starts. Focusing on primary prevention is an important way to reduce the prevalence of sex trafficking. According to Greenbaum (2020), primary prevention methods should be implemented at multiple levels, including educating professionals on what human trafficking is, its risks, and common recruiting strategies used by traffickers. Educating professionals within schools and other community-based organizations plays a crucial role in raising awareness about trafficking vulnerabilities. Prevention is most effective when it addresses individual, relational, and community-level risk factors (Baird & Connolly, 2021)

With this goal in mind, the students developed a prevention-focused booklet that equips caring adults with practical tools to recognize vulnerability, build trust, and support at-risk youth before exploitation can occur. Due to school counselor's daily interactions with adolescents, they may be particularly effective in recognizing risks among vulnerable children (Litam & Lam, 2021). The primary target group for sex trafficking exploitation is vulnerable teenage youth, with the average age of exploitation being fourteen years old (Real Escape from the Sex Trade, 2021). Therefore, educating adults involved in the teenagers' lives poses the greatest potential to protect these young people.

Using resources from the partnered organization and other scholarly articles, the booklet was created in an easy-to-read and concise format. The booklet aims to educate on early warning signs and risk factors, how to empower adolescents to protect themselves and others, and what to do if a parent, teacher, or counselor suspects a child is being coerced. The students’ approach was further shaped by reviewing letters from survivors, many of whom described entering the sex trade at a young age due to unmet emotional needs, such as a lack of love or belonging. These stories reinforced the importance of early intervention.

Outcomes

The primary goal of the sex trafficking education booklet was to increase awareness of warning signs, available interventions, and prevention strategies among parents, teachers, and school counselors. By doing so, the nursing students aimed to raise awareness surrounding sex trafficking and educate those who may not recognize the signs. The students developed a comprehensive thirty-eight-page booklet designed to be presented in schools to the target audience. The students encountered limitations due to the lack of face-to-face interactions with clients at the partnered organization. However, they were able to obtain written feedback through questions they developed and distributed. Time constraints also posed a challenge, preventing them from presenting at schools that were open to having them display their educational booklet. Despite these barriers, they have provided the booklet to their partner organization, enabling them to continue the initiative and help raise awareness about sex trafficking within educational institutions. Through these presentations, the goal is to empower the audience to create safe and supportive environments for youth, ultimately reducing the number of individuals who fall victim to sex trafficking. By focusing on prevention, the students have taken the first step in breaking the cycle.

Conclusion

In partnership with the agency, the nursing students successfully created a booklet to raise awareness about sex trafficking. By providing adults with the knowledge and tools to recognize and respond to exploitation risks early, the project supports safer environments for youth. It also serves as a foundation for ongoing advocacy and education by disrupting the cycle of trafficking before it begins. Despite the limited outreach during this phase, the process provided a strong foundation for future presentations and community engagement. The booklet will act as a primary prevention tool in raising awareness and enabling prevention against sex trafficking.

References

Baird, K., & Connolly, J. (2021). Recruitment and entrapment pathways of minors into sex trafficking in Canada and the United States: A systematic review. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 24(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380211025241

Footer, K. H. A., White, R. H., Park, J. N., Decker, M. R., Lutnick, A., & Sherman, S. G. (2020). Entry to Sex Trade and Long-Term Vulnerabilities of Female Sex Workers Who Enter the Sex Trade Before the Age of Eighteen. Journal of Urban Health, 97(3), 406–417. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-019-00410-z

Greenbaum, J. (2020). A public health approach to global child sex trafficking. Annual Review of Public Health, 41, 481–497. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040119-094335

Litam, S. D. A., & Lam, E. T. C. (2021). Sex trafficking beliefs in counselors: Establishing the need for human trafficking training in counselor education programs. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 43(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-020-09408-8

Real Escape from the Sex Trade. (2021). Annual Report 2021. https://iwantrest.com/annual-report/home

Real Escape from the Sex Trade. (2024). REST: Real Escape from the Sex Trade. https://iwantrest.com/

Copyright Status

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Additional Rights Information

Copyright held by authors, except where otherwise noted.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS
 
Copyright Status