Resources: 4.5 Victim Populations

Minors and Adolescent Victims

Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking of Minors

  • Justice for Juveniles: Exploring Non-Criminal Response Mechanisms for Child Sex Trafficking (2015) [PDF 700KB] Report details potential factors that affect the community's response to juvenile sex trafficking victims. The main issues noted were the lack of resources and need for coordination. The report also provides recommendations in forming state responses, including coordination with the child welfare system as a key partner.
  • Homelessness, Survival Sex, and Human Trafficking: As Experienced by the Youth of Covenant House New York (2013) [PDF 7.9 MB] This report presents one of the largest human trafficking studies of homeless youth in New York history. The study looks at the incidence of trafficking and survival sex through interviews with the youth at Covenant House. Contrary to other studies, the incidents of introduction into commercial sex fell at around 18 years old.
  • Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children/Sex Trafficking (August 2014) [PDF 255KB] OJJDP's brief overview and introduction to the topic.
  • Confronting Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Sex Trafficking of Minors in the United States (2013) This resource examines commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents of the United States under age 18. The report recommends increased awareness and understanding, strengthening of the law's response, strengthening of research to advance understanding and to support the development of prevention and intervention strategies, support for multi-sector and interagency collaboration, and creation of a digital information-sharing platform.
  • Confronting Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Sex Trafficking (2013) This report examines commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents of the United States under age 18. It is provided by Institute of Medicine and National Research Council.
  • Human Trafficking Protocol for Minor Victims of Trafficking (No Date) Developed by the Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force.
  • Youth Involvement in the Sex Trade (2016) [PDF 3.7MB] This study discusses ethnographic findings concerning the lives of youth in the sex trade in several selected research sites and presents findings relevant to outreach to and services for potentially trafficked youth.
  • Toolkit: Trauma-Informed Case Management with Foreign National Children and Youth Survivors of Trafficking [PDF 4.0MB]

Foreign National Child Victims

  • Assistance for Child Victims of Human Trafficking Fact Sheet (2016) [PDF 564KB] This fact sheet provides a summary of services available to minor foreign national victims of trafficking.
  • Guide for State Courts in Cases Involving Unaccompanied Immigrant Children (2015) [PDF 3.4MB] This guide, a collaboration from the Center for Public Policy Studies and the National Center for State Courts, aims to increase understanding of federal immigration laws and unaccompanied immigrant children in state courts. The guide focuses on Special Immigrant Juvenile Status as one of the options for unaccompanied minors.
  • Requesting Assistance for Child Victims of Human Trafficking (July 2021) This webpage by the Department of Health and Human Services provides the steps on how to request assistance with a child victim of human trafficking.
  • Flores Settlement Agreement of 1997 [PDF 3.8MB] After two organizations filed class action suits against the Immigration and Naturalization Services for the detention, treatment, and release of unaccompanied immigrant children, the Flores Settlement imposed several obligations on the immigration authorities.

General Resources

  • Human Trafficking and Child Welfare: A Guide for Child Welfare Agencies (2017) This guide from the Child Welfare Information Gateway identifies how child welfare agencies can support child victims of human trafficking and vulnerable youth.
  • Human Trafficking and Child Welfare: A Guide for Caseworkers (2017) The guide provides tools and resources to assist caseworkers in identifying and supporting potential victims of human trafficking.
  • Outcome Measurement System The National Children's Alliance Outcome Measurement System conducts surveys of nonoffending parents/caregivers in child abuse cases and multidisciplinary team members to determine the strengths of Child Advocacy Center (CAC) services, as well as gaps. CACs may have a key role in identifying and assisting victims of trafficking.
  • Guidance to States and Services on Addressing Human Trafficking of Children and Youth in the United States (September 2013) This guide discusses the nature of child trafficking, understanding the needs of victims, coordinating services, meeting needs and responding, and additional assistance available to child victims.
  • Trying for a New Life: Trafficking Victims in Maternity Group Homes (September 2020) [PDF 257KB] Young women who were trafficked are a regular presence at maternity group homes. Their trauma and its effects can pose obstacles to a program's effectiveness, and also make these young women feel unworthy of motherhood. But a child can also be very motivating for trafficking victims, provided that treatment helps them overcome their emotional trauma.

Male Victims of Trafficking

  • And Boys Too (2013) [PDF 259KB] This is an ECPAT-USA discussion paper about the lack of recognition of the commercial sexual exploitation of boys in the United States.

LGBTQ Victims

  • Breaking Barriers: Improving Services for Human trafficking Victims (2015) This Polaris report provides 10 action steps to increase an organization's capacity to serve LGBTQ victims.
  • Let's Talk About It! A Transgender Survivor's Guide to Accessing Therapy (2015) [PDF 3.3MB]This guide provides information for transgender, gender non-confirming, and gender non-binary survivors of sexual violence. The document presents core information about trauma and its aftermath, and gives options for healing and self-help techniques for a wide range of needs, in addition to relevant resources.
  • Locked In: Interactions With the Criminal Justice and Child Welfare Systems for LGBTQ Youth, YMSM, and YWSW Who Engage in Survival Sex (2015) The Urban Institute report focuses on LGBTQ youth who are involved in the commercial sex market and their interactions with law enforcement, the criminal justice system, and the child welfare system.
  • Toward Equity (2015) The Equity Project's training curriculum provides instructors with an outline for promoting competency and awareness in working with the LGBTQ community in the juvenile justice system. Lessons cover sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.
  • Surviving the Streets of New York: Experiences of LGBTQ Youth, YMSM, and YWSW Engaged in Survival Sex (2015) Published by the Urban Institute, this study looks at characteristics of youth who engage in survival sex in New York City. The study examines demographics, motivations, and factors such as peer or exploiter relationships. One section of the report examines youth relationships with exploiters and potential traffickers.
  • Building Relationships With Transgender Individuals (2014) This article, from the December issue of Police Chief Magazine, provides statistics on violence experienced by the transgender community and the need for building relationships with transgender advocacy and community groups in order to increase reporting and collaboration from transgender victims of crime. The article recommends strategies for building rapport.
  • LGBTQ Youths in the Juvenile Justice System (August 2014) [PDF 315KB]: OJJDP's brief summary of the LGBTQ risk factors for trafficking.
  • Responding to Transgender Victims of Sexual Assault (June 2014) Developed by OVC, this online guide was designed to help educate those who respond to sexual assault victims about what it means to be transgender and how to provide these victims with appropriate, accessible care. The guide presents a wide array of information in a user-friendly electronic format that allows practitioners to pick and choose the information that is most useful to them, from basic information about the transgender experience to specific guidance for sexual assault service providers and advocates, law enforcement officers, medical and mental health care providers, and support group facilitators. It includes practical tools to promote understanding and support of transgender victims, such as preferred language terms and transgender 101.
  • Why It Matters: Rethinking Victim Assistance for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Victims of Hate Violence and Intimate Partner Violence (March 2010) [PDF 739KB] This report describes widespread gaps in victim services for LGBTQ victims of crime and recommends steps to improve both the services and their accessibility.
  • Health Disparities Among Sexual Sexual Minority Youth This webpage outlines the health risks LGBTQ youth face, including higher rates of depression and violence than their peers.

Victims with Disabilities

  • Supporting Crime Victims with Disabilities This 3-day training offered by OVC TTAC is designed for victim service providers, advocates for people with disabilities, self-advocates, and allied professionals. Using case studies and small group discussions, participants examine the prevalence of crime against people with disabilities, perceptions of the criminal justice system, tenets of the disabilities movement, and the impact of disabilities on daily life. Through collaborative activities you will identify ways the various agencies, organizations, and systems can work together to better serve crime victims with disabilities.
  • Crime Victims with Developmental Disabilities (2001) Criminal Justice and Behavior. Vol. 28 No. 6 655-694. The author offers several conceptual models to explain differential victimization risk, including routine activities theory, dependency-stress model, cultural stereotyping, and victim-learned compliance. This article summarizes the research evidence on crimes against children and adults with developmental disabilities. It is divided into four sections. The first section describes the nature and extent of crimes against individuals with developmental disabilities. The second reviews the literature on risk factors associated with victimization. The third discusses the manner in which justice agencies respond to these crimes. The final section enumerates what research and policy initiatives might address the problem.
  • "Laws in Your State" This chart summarizes mandatory reporters by state for elders and those with a disability.
  • Human Trafficking of Youth with Disabilities (2020)

Native American Communities