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Victims & Offenders: An International Journal of Evidence-based Research, Policy, and Practice
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Exploited Vulnerability: Legal and Psychological Perspectives on Child Sex Trafficking Victims
Joan A. Reid & Shayne Jones
a a a

University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA Published online: 05 Apr 2011.

To cite this article: Joan A. Reid & Shayne Jones (2011): Exploited Vulnerability: Legal and Psychological Perspectives on Child Sex Trafficking Victims, Victims & Offenders: An International Journal of Evidence-based Research, Policy, and Practice, 6:2, 207-231 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2011.557327

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Victims and Offenders, 6:207231, 2011 Copyright Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 1556-4886 print/1556-4991 online DOI: 10.1080/15564886.2011.557327

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Exploited Vulnerability: Legal and Psychological Perspectives on Child Sex Trafcking Victims
Joan A. Reid and Shayne Jones
University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA Abstract: While the Trafcking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 and subsequent reauthorizations dened all minors under the age of 18 involved in commercial sex acts as victims, state and local systems continue to classify prostituted minors who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents as offenders. A review of the historical, neurological, and developmental vulnerabilities typical of child sex trafcking victims reveals serious doubts regarding their ability to control their choices or escape from a trafcker. The uniform shielding of all child victims of sex trafcking, whether international or domestic, from legal culpability for the criminal conduct of trafckers is recommended. Keywords: child sexual exploitation, prostituted minors, child sex trafcking, trauma bonding

INTRODUCTION
One of the primary goals of the interdisciplinary eld of psychology and law is to use psychological principles and ndings in an effort to inform legal issues (Bartol & Bartol, 2004). As scholars in this eld have noted, however, the relationship between these two elds has not been without controversy and conict (Melton, Petrila, Poythress, & Slobogin, 2007; Roesch, Hart, & Ogloff, 1999). Yet with respect to child sex trafcking victims, the two disciplines offer converging perspectives and yield similar policy implications. This is not to suggest, however, that problems do not exist. For instance, whereas federal law and psychological research are in accord with respect to child sex trafcking victims, state laws have lagged behind. Furthermore,

Address correspondence to Joan A. Reid, University of South Florida, 13301 Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, MHC 1632, #12, Tampa, FL 33612. E-mail: jareid2@bcs.usf.edu

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justice systems at the local level have dealt with such victims inconsistently sometimes treating them as offenders, and in other instances as victims. These problems would appear to be due, in part, to a lack of understanding and appreciation of this specic crime. This article seeks to remedy this by (1) examining the nature and scope of child sex trafcking victimization, (2) reviewing relevant statutory and legal guidelines, (3) exploring the psychosocial history and development of such victims, and (4) providing appropriate justice system policy recommendations stemming from both the legal and psychological perspectives.

THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM Prevalence of Sex Trafcking of Minors

The sex trafcking of children is among the most hidden of crimes, shielded by societal tolerance or the denial of the problem, all the while being fueled by an escalating and seemingly insatiable demand (DeMarco, 2004; Fang, 2005; Hughes, 2005; Whitehead, 2008). The prostituting of minors may be the most ignored and undetected crime against children in the United Stateswith few, if any, state agencies identifying and investigating minor prostitution, or even recording its existence (Estes & Weiner, 2001; Hanna, 2002; Hughes, 2005). In those instances when it is focused upon, the minors act is often categorized and treated as a public nuisance crime by local law enforcement instead of an instance of child victimization (Albanese, 2007; Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice [FACJJ], 2007; Halter, 2010; National Center for Missing and Exploited Children [NCMEC], n.d.). The hidden nature of the crime of child sex trafcking reduces the availability of reliable data on the number of prostituted minors in the United States (Albanese, 2007; Go zdziak & Bump, 2008). The scant information that does exist supports the conclusion that the sexual exploitation of minors is a serious problem. Some research estimates have suggested that 1015% of U.S. street children, or approximately 293,000 minors, are at risk for victimization in commercial sexual exploitation (Estes & Weiner, 2001). From 1998 to 2004, NCMEC received almost 300,000 hotline tips regarding child sexual exploitation (Albanese, 2007). These gures clearly convey the gravity of this problem on a societal level.

Terminology and Child Sex Trafcking Victims

Various terms are used to describe children victimized through commercial sexual exploitation, from child/juvenile/teen prostitute to child sex trafcking victim. Hanna (2002) noted that using the word prostitute focuses solely

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on the minor as a delinquent involved in the commission of this crime, disregarding the role of the trafckers and johns who benet from the vulnerable minors sexual exploitation. Research using language analysis examined the effects of the choice of words used in the print media to describe children who have been sexually exploited in prostitution (Goddard, De Bortoli, Saunders, & Tucci, 2005). These researchers exposed the effects of textual abuse, a concept referring to language that exploits and objecties children by minimizing the seriousness of crimes committed against them in order to spare the reader from fully acknowledging the childs victimization (Goddard et al., p. 278). By using the term child prostitution, with the implied commonalities between adult prostitution and child prostitution, the sexual abuse and victimization of the child is never acknowledged. In deference to the ndings in this research and adhering to the terms used in the Federal Trafcking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 and the subsequent reauthorizations (Trafcking Victims Protection Reauthorization [TVPRA] of 2003, 2005, and 2008) the term used to describe a sexually exploited minor in this paper will be child sex trafcking victim (CSTV). In this paper the term used to describe those who sexually exploit children will be sex trafckers.

THE LEGAL PERSPECTIVE

Although an insufcient amount of attention has been focused on CSTVs, there have been responses by the federal legislature and courts. What follows are the key legislative pieces that address child sex trafcking specically, and rulings from the judiciary concerning minors in general.

Federal Response and Legislation

The TVPA of 2000 and the TVPRA of 2003, 2005, and 2008 classify all minors involved in commercial sex acts as victims of trafcking, including minors who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents. Commercial sex act is dened by the TVPA (2000) as any sex act on account of which anything of value is given to or received by any person (Sec. 103). The TVPA and its reauthorizations state that all individuals under the age of 18 induced to perform a commercial sex act are victims of a severe form of trafcking (Sec. 103). The term severe forms of trafcking in persons includes sex trafcking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age (Sec. 103). The TVPA provides protection for trafcking victims rather than punishment, even if entangled in illegal activities, stating that victims of severe

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forms of trafcking should not be inappropriately incarcerated, ned, or otherwise penalized solely for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafcked (Sec. 102). Minors are not required to show that force, fraud, or coercion was involved in their entrapment into sex trafcking (Sec. 103), effectively advocating that minors under the age of 18 are legally incapable of consenting to involvement in commercial sex acts, such as prostitution or pornography. Findings by Congress noted in the TVPRA of 2005 clarify that runaway and homeless children in the United States are highly susceptible to being domestically trafcked for commercial sexual exploitation (Sec. 2). Therefore, the TVPRA of 2005 allocated resources to expand victim assistance programs to U.S. citizens subjected to trafcking. In addition, the FACJJ (2007) noted the additional trauma often associated with being a CSTV, as such victims often suffer further emotional degradation and the unwarranted social stigma of being tagged as offendersoften they are arrested, labeled, and charged with the crime committed against them. The FACJJ (2007) reported, Juveniles involved in prostitution tend to be the most vulnerable of youth. . . . Holding such children accountable for sexual actions with adults only serves to further exploit their vulnerabilities (p. 28). The advisory further states, the crime of prostitution, as applied to juveniles, purports to hold juveniles accountable for conduct to which they are legally unable to consent (p. 28). Societys legal and moral condemnation of these minors presumes that they are responsible for their own sexual exploitation and therefore no longer worthy of the legal protection provided through child abuse or statutory rape laws (Hanna, 2002; Kreston, 2000, 2005). A special report from the National Institute of Justice on commercial exploitation of children (Albanese, 2007) cautions against treating teenage prostitutes as offenders and notes that these minors have few choices for survival. Hanna (2002) potently described these vulnerable, throwaway, disposable children as nobodys daughters, which is no doubt how they often must experience the world (p. 4). The formation of the Innocence Lost Initiative provides further evidence of the growing priority at the federal level of prosecuting child sex trafckers involved in prostituting minor victims. Launched in 2003 by the FBI and the Justice Departments Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section in partnership with the NCMEC, this initiative was designed to address the growing problem of children forced into prostitution in the United States by providing training to state and federal law enforcement agencies, designating special agents, and assigning prosecutors to cities with high levels of child prostitution (U.S. Department of Justice [DOJ], 2005). This initiative supports cooperation between local FBI eld ofces and local law enforcement agencies by promoting regular communication and information sharing regarding investigations that involve the prostitution of minors. Through January 2007, the Innocence Lost

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Initiative reported 697 arrests, 160 indictments, and 136 convictions (Becker, 2007). These clearly explicit warnings regarding the injustices of criminalizing vulnerable child-victims by authorities have not been widely acknowledged. In spite of these governmental reports and advisories, and even after the passing of the TVPA in 2000 and its reauthorizations, minors continued to be arrested and adjudicated on prostitution charges (Halter, 2010). In Florida from 2000 to 2006, over 400 minors were arrested and adjudicated on prostitution charges (Florida Department of Juvenile Justice [FDJJ], 2006; Shared Hope International [SHI], 2008a). In Las Vegas between August 24, 2005 and May 31, 2007, 226 minors were adjudicated through the juvenile prostitution court (SHI, 2008b). In recent research regarding how local law enforcement treated prostituted minors, 60% of the youth in study sample were regarded as victims and 40% as offenders (Halter, 2010). The victim or offender status of the youth was primarily determined by law enforcement based on the youths level of cooperation, the presence of an identied sex trafcker or exploiter, whether the youth had a prior record, and how the police discovered the youths involvement in prostitution (Halter, 2010). This study highlights the need for clear state legislation regarding this form of child victimization. Although a recent change in state law in New York allows for a child involved in prostitution to avoid adjudication on prostitution charges and receive treatment, such allowances are only provided if the victim aids the state with the prosecution of the sex trafcker who prostituted them (Confessore, 2008). Yet engaging and sustaining a minor victims cooperation in the prosecution of their trafcker poses a unique set of challenges. First, the psychological effects of trauma can impede a victims ability to cooperate and testify (Herman, 1992, 2003). Second, trafckers may threaten victims or their family members, so victims are often reluctant to testify. In contrast, according to the TVPA (2000), minor victims are exempt from this requirement necessitating cooperation with law enforcement in order to receive victim status and all the associated benets (Clawson & Dutch, 2008, p. 4). Adding to the controversy and confusion, states generally consider sexual acts with a person under the age of consent, which varies by state, as statutory rape or lewd and lascivious battery regardless of whether the act was consensual. Yet CSTVs are being criminalized despite the fact that they are often legally too young to consent to sexual activity (Albanese, 2007; FACJJ, 2007). Thus, there exists a critical disconnect between state and federal laws. While the federal statute denes a new depiction of all prostituted minors under the age of 18 as vulnerable victims unable to give consent to being sexually exploited and trafcked, state and local systems continue to treat them as offenders (Albanese, 2007; FACJJ, 2007; Halter, 2010). The injustice that victims of trafcking often face once they are detected by authorities is

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acknowledged by the TVPA (2000) in stating, existing laws often fail to protect victims of trafcking. . . . They are repeatedly punished more harshly than the trafckers themselves (Sec. 102). Not only is the prosecution of CSTVs inconsistent with recent federal legislation, it also appears to conict with a number of judicial rulings.

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Minors: A Protected Class

Beyond legislative attempts to protect CSTVs, there are several rulings from the judiciary that clearly articulate that minors, in general, are viewed differently from adults and are afforded unique safeguards. For instance, in Roper v. Simmons (2005), the U.S. Supreme Court gave a clear directive that the law should not disregard the differences between juveniles and adults, afrming that to a greater extent than adults (1) juveniles are susceptible to immature and irresponsible behavior; (2) they have less control over their immediate surroundings, making it more difcult for them to escape negative inuences; and (3) their identity is not fully formed. As further evidence of childrens special legal status, minors are unable to provide informed consent to most medical procedures and are not held liable for breaches in legal contracts (Cauffman & Steinberg, 1995). Minors are legally unable to become victims of commercial exploitation due to their status as minors, with the implied lack of experience exponentially increasing the ease with which they can become nancially entrapped (Oberman, 1994). Minors are not allowed to smoke, vote, or drink alcohol before they reach certain ages. Legal protection is provided to children in areas that concern their physical and even nancial safety. Thus, they should also receive the benet of preferential treatment in protecting them from sex trafckers, rather than being treated as juvenile offenders. A key legal argument against prosecuting child sex trafcking victims is that children under the age of consent fall within a legally protected class, evidenced by statutes regarding rape or sexual battery of a child (MeinersLevy, 2006). The prosecution of statutory rape is based on the minor status or age of the victim, regardless of whether the act was considered to be consensual by the defendant. Although the age of consent varies by state, by delineating an age of consent under which no child is deemed capable of consenting to sexual contact, each U.S. states legislation has clearly created a protected class of children (Meiners-Levy, 2006, p. 509). In order to prosecute a child for prostitution, a negation of the law must occur; the child must be removed from this protected class and deemed to have consented to the sexual activity. Similar to the nonissue of the minors consent when prosecuting statutory rape, numerous examples from case law can be found documenting that the apparent consent of the minor is not an afrmative defense for the defendant

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in cases involving child sex trafcking. For example, in U.S. v. Dhingra (2004), the willingness of the minor to engage in sexual conduct was not allowed as a defense for inducing a minor to engage in prostitution. In Dhingras appeal, it was alleged that the law was unclear regarding whether or not the minor was culpable. The court concluded that the statute is clear in stating that the only relevant and criminal conduct is that of the defendant, not that of the minor. In two different cases involving convictions for the use of a minor in a sexual performance, the convictions were supported even though the minors were voluntarily participating in the recording of the sexually explicit material (Holbrook v. Commonwealth [1984]; Williams v. Commonwealth [2005]). The Kentucky court ruled that the statute was designed to protect all minors, whether they were participating voluntarily or not, and did not imply the use of force or coercion by a defendant. The Supreme Court has already drawn a protective legal boundary around child-victims of pornography; New York v. Ferber (1982) held that the government must serve the interest of the welfare of children engaged in its production over the value of permitting live performances and photographic reproductions of children engaged in lewd exhibitions by recognizing and classifying child pornography as a category of material outside the First Amendments protection. The court also acceded in the same case to the New York legislatures nding that the use of children as subjects of pornographic materials is harmful to the physiological, emotional, and mental health of the child. All minors belong to a legally protected class due to normative factors, such as lack of psychosocial maturity and diminished cognitive capabilities. Some minors, however, are particularly vulnerable, and thus deserve even greater protection. In light of judges consideration of the totality of circumstances when evaluating juvenile culpability or blameworthiness in committing an illegal act (Steinberg & Cauffman, 1999, p. 408), psychosocial deciencies due to a minors environmental history are relevant in deciding a juveniles culpability. With respect to child sex trafcking victims, there are psychosocial, historical, and developmental factors that suggest this population is particularly vulnerable.

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THE PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE Normative Psychosocial Immaturity of Minors

The plummeting age of children being entrapped by sex trafckers is a disturbing trend; no child is too young. Child pornography is seeing an explosion in the number of images of children, even infants, being sexually battered (DeMarco, 2004; Hughes, 2002, 2005). Due to the link between trafcking of children for pornography and prostitution (Estes & Weiner, 2001; Hughes,

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2005; Klain, Davies, & Hicks, 2001), the declining age of child pornography victims is a chilling signal that the average age of child-victims forced into prostitution will likely continue to fall. With each customers growing fear of contracting AIDS or other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), the demand for virgins (i.e., prepubescent children) has increased (Fang, 2005; Hanna, 2002; Hughes, 2005; Kreston, 2000, 2005).1 According to current research, the average age of entry for girls into prostitution in the United States is 12 to 14, with boys entering at even younger ages (Estes & Weiner, 2001, p. 92). The young age of these victims, and their commensurate lack of psychosocial maturity, casts doubt on these minors adjudicative competence or culpability for damage or injury resulting from their actions (MeinersLevy, 2006; Steinberg & Cauffman, 1999). Dependency, based in social and psychological immaturity, is the primary status characteristic of childhood (Finkelhor, 2007, p. 13). In applying this status of dependency to a sexual relationship between a child and an adult, youthfulness diminishes personal autonomy or the capacity to resist the authority or power of a trafcker. Finkelhor (1984) described the enormous manipulativeness and callous lack of regard for childrens well-being that characterize the behavior of persons who seduce children and concluded that most children are not capable of protecting their own interest in the face of this power and guile (p. 19). He further stated, Most of what we see as consensual behavior among children is a response to the powerful incentives and authority that such adults hold (p. 18). Another key developmental characteristic of adolescence is that of tremendous malleability, with adolescents showing particular vulnerability to outside inuences and environmental settings (Steinberg & Cauffman, 1999, p. 393). At no other time in the developmental lifespan are individuals more inuenced by peers and a need for social status (Cauffman & Steinberg, 1995). Consequently, adolescents may be more affected by and quicker to respond to negative peer inuences that adults could more easily withstand (Steinberg & Scott, 2003). Additionally, adolescents place a high priority on sensation-seeking (i.e., the degree of novelty and intensity of an experience), leading them to experiment with risky and dangerous behavior (Gardner & Steinberg, 2005; Steinberg & Scott, 2003). They are inuenced more by shortterm outcomes than by long-term consequences, leading to immaturity in judgment and poor decisions (Cauffman & Steinberg, 1995). This diminished ability in decision making seems greatest for adolescents when they are placed in real-world settings involving criminal activity (Steinberg & Scott, 2003). This lack of psychosocial maturity is particularly salient in the context of sexual behavior. As noted by Hanna (2002), adolescents can make poor decisions regarding sexuality due to their inexperience and naivet. Estes and Weiner (2005) found that immaturity and poor sexual decision making are empirically documented factors contributing to the commercial sexual

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exploitation of children. Further, Hanna (2002) emphasizes that adolescent females are uniquely vulnerable due to societal norms, by which males usually take the sexual initiative, and young females insecurity and sexual inexperience can lead them to acquiesce to painfully one-sided sexual bargains (p. 12). The psychosocial immaturity posited by researchers may have a biological basis (Steinberg & Scott, 2003). For example, some of the cardinal characteristics of psychosocial immaturityimpulsivity, risk-taking, future orientationhave been linked to frontal lobe functioning. The frontal lobes are responsible for higher-order cognitive processes, referred to as executive functioninginvolving planning, problem solving, forethought, and impulse control (Henry & Moftt, 1997). The frontal lobes are among the last regions of the brain that are fully formed, and the prefrontal cortex is precisely the area of the brain that is undergoing the most change during adolescence (Spear, 2000). Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to compare young adults (age 2330) and adolescents (age 1216), researchers found the greatest difference between the two groups to be in the frontal lobes (Sowell, Thompson, Holmes, Jernigan, & Toga, 1999). Working in collusion, these normative conditions of childhood and adolescencecharacterized by dependency, malleability, and poor judgment conspire against a runaway, throwaway, or deserted child by leaving them exposed and vulnerable to the deceit and manipulation of a trafcker. As indicated above, adolescence is marked by important biological and psychological development, leaving even the most normal adolescent susceptible to misjudgment, coercion, rash decision making, and childish naivet about relationships and the world. This almost assuredly is exacerbated among those with an abusive psychosocial history, frequently shared by many CSTVs.

Psychosocial Histories of CSTVs

The majority of minors entrapped in child sex trafcking have been sexually abused; some have even been abandoned by their families (Estes & Weiner, 2001, 2005; Farley, Lynne, & Cotton, 2005; FACJJ, 2007; Hanna, 2002;). Runaway minors are highly susceptible to the entrapment tactics employed by sex trafckers (Estes & Weiner, 2001; TVPRA, 2005). Familial circumstances, which drive children to run away from their homes, are often valid and understandable; in a survey of 775 runaway youth, 70% of females and 24% of males reported being sexually abused; 35% of both genders reported physical abuse (Molnar, Shade, Kral, Booth, & Watters, 1998). Children run from their families hoping that life away from home, even on the streets, will be less abusive and hostile than life in their home (Estes & Weiner, 2001). More than 50% of runaway youth reported that their parents either told them to leave or their parents knew they were leaving and did not care (National

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Runaway Switchboard [NRS], n.d.). In a recent study interviewing 100 women involved in prostitution in Vancouver, 82% reported being sexually abused during childhood, with an average of four perpetrators (Farley et al., 2005). For many minors entrapped in sex trafcking, being abused and prostituted is a continuance of the only way of life they have ever known (Hanna, 2002). A director of a prostitution recovery program describes former prostitutes as suffering social retardation (Servatius, 2006). Although such terminology seems harsh, this limitation is different from a mental developmental delay; most are of average intelligence, but they just come from a social, cultural, and sexual background that is alien to the rest of society (Servatius, 2006). As such, it is important to understand how the psychosocial histories of CSTVs contribute to their diminished culpability, beginning with the distinctive and pervasive effects of child sexual abuse (Finkelhor, 1986; Finkelhor & Browne, 1985).

Consequences of Childhood Sexual Abuse

Children who have been sexually abused often face a lifelong struggle to overcome the profound effects of the traumatic experience (Herman, 1992). Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) has been found to be a major risk factor for many mental health disorders; most commonly noted are posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, suicide, alcohol problems, and eating disorders (Briere & Runtz, 1993; Finkelhor, 1986; Solomon & Heide, 1999). Survivors of CSA describe their identity as contaminated, full of self-loathing, shame, and invisibility (Phillips & Daniluk, 2004). Experiencing repeated, uncontrollable traumatic events (such as repeated CSA) decreases the individuals ability to trust others or to perceive future relationships as supportive or helpful (Briere & Runtz, 1993). Carnes (1997) described shame-based core beliefs that are often held by CSA survivors, including the belief that they are unlovable and that no one could care about them based on their own merits. Finkelhor and Browne (1985) theorized that a system of dysfunctional personal beliefs develop due to CSA that may lead to a heightened vulnerability for sexual revictimization. The traumagenic dynamics theory describes four unique effects of CSAtraumatic sexualization, betrayal, powerlessness, and stigmatization. Finkelhor and Browne (1985) dene traumatic sexualization as the process in which a childs sexuality . . . is shaped in a developmentally inappropriate and interpersonally dysfunctional fashion as a result of sexual abuse (p. 531). The betrayal component, due to abuse occurring within a relationship of trust, may lead to social isolation, feelings of guilt and shame, and relationship difculties (Finkelhor & Browne, 1985). Similar to Seligmans (1975) concept of learned helplessness, powerlessnesswhereby a child is unable to exert their will or control the abusive situationis also thought to

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occur following CSA. Lastly, stigmatization describes the frequent embracing of a self-identity that is bad, damaged, impure, guilty, or shamed. As a result of these theoretically proposed and empirically validated traumagenic effects of CSA (Finkelhor & Browne, 1985; for a review of empirically based support, see Stockdale, OConnor, Gutek, & Geer, 2002), childrens core self-esteem is often pervasively damaged and they perceive themselves as deserving of abuse and powerless to prevent it. Self-protective reactions to abusive circumstances may no longer function (Arata, 2002; Herman, 1992; Scaer, 2001; Scott, Wolfe, & Wekerle, 2003). An abused child, whose expressions of needs and wants have been ignored, may fail to even develop the self-efcacy needed to stop unwanted sexual advances (Senn, Carey, Vanable, Coury-Doniger, & Urban, 2007). Disclosures of survivors of CSA who were sexually revictimized revealed they were so full of self-blame and shame from the original assault that they felt unable to act on their own behalf during the later sexual assault (Anderson, 2004). Sexual boundary violations in childhood often result in a psychological incapacity to even recognize boundaries, either because the child was brought up in a home where they did not exist or punishment resulted from trying to establish them (Herman, 1992; Rutter, 1989). Such a child has become conditioned by fear not to think about boundaries at all in sexual situations with men (Rutter, 1989, p. 160). Schiraldi (2000) proposes that CSA leaves one feeling stunned, numbed, and unable to protect oneself (see also Arata, 2002; Herman, 1992; Scaer, 2001; Scott, Wolfe, & Wekerle, 2003). Often CSA victims will seek a powerful authority gure to rescue them (Carnes, 1997; Herman, 1992). If that authority gure is an abusive offender, the cycle of victimization continues. This is frequently the case with CSTVs; sexually abused at home, these runaways escape from one form of sexual victimization by running to the streets, where men who claim to be rescuing them use their youthfulness for prot (Hanna, 2002).

The Neurobiological Changes in CSA Victims

One explanation for the severity and persistence of psychosocial symptoms found in CSA survivors comes from the growing body of evidence that sexual trauma does not merely alter the psychological and emotional self. Our brains are sculpted by our early experiences. Maltreatment is a chisel that shapes a brain to contend with strife, but at the cost of deep, enduring wounds (Teicher, 2000, p. 67). Trauma at any age produces persistent and possibly permanent changes in the brain (Barnett, Miller-Perrin, & Perrin, 2005); even more devastating, exposure to trauma will have a far more profound effect on the developing brain of an infant or very young child, producing permanent patterns of neuronal development that may result in specic disturbances in

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personality and behavior (Scaer, 2001, p. 136; see also, De Bellis, 2001; Heide & Solomon, 2006; Solomon & Heide, 2005; Teicher, 2000). Trauma-based changes in the brain structure of victims of CSA have been documented, including cerebral volume (reduction); the corpus callosum; amygdala; hippocampal volume; reduced activity in Brocas area; impaired development of the orbiofrontal cortex and its neural connections with the limbic system; and abnormal changes in level of cortisol (Heide & Solomon, 2006; Scaer, 2001; Solomon & Heide, 2005; Teicher, 2000, 2002). The effects of these numerous changes at the physiological level are extensive, including a heightened level of fear, dissociative symptoms, memory impairments, diminished sense of self, difculty understanding emotion, undeveloped empathic ability, decreased capacity to regulate affect, and uninhibited aggressive impulses toward self and others (Heide & Solomon, 2006; Solomon & Heide, 2005; Teicher, 2000, 2002). The brain of the child victim is predisposed with a biological basis for fear and is molded to be more irritable, impulsive, suspicious, and prone to be overwhelmed with ght-or-ight reactions that the rational mind might not be able to control (Teicher, 2000, p. 62). It is unknown if the neurological and physiological changes resultant from abuse and trauma that occurs during childhood and adolescence can be repaired or overcome. Imaging studies of the brain, both anatomical and functional, suggest that this effect is long lasting and in some instances probably permanent (Scaer, 2001, p. 67). These changes in brain structure and functioning are especially relevant to the child-victims of sex trafcking because a high percentage of the children being trafcked have a prior history of CSA (Estes & Weiner, 2001; Farley et al., 2005; FACJJ, 2007; Hanna, 2002). As prior victims of CSA, they are less likely to be able to protect themselves from sexual exploitation, less likely to recognize the inappropriateness of the sexual activity involved in being prostituted (Finkelhor & Browne, 1985; Meiners-Levy, 2006; Rutter, 1989), and at high risk for developing into easy prey for a predatory child sex trafcker. The coupling of CSA and youthfulness, each having a corresponding neurological vulnerability, merge to create critical mitigating factors that a just society should not ignore. Yet an understanding of the psychological dynamics involved in child sex trafcking is incomplete without consideration of the trafcker and the childs dependency on them.

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The Superglue of Sexual Exploitation: Trauma Bonding

From 50% to 90% of the girls engaged in prostitution in the United States are under the control of a sex trafcker (Albanese, 2007; Estes & Weiner, 2001, 2005; NCMEC, n.d.). Pimps scout bus stations, arcades, and malls, focusing on girls who appear to be runaways without money or job skills (Albanese, 2007, p. 3). Researchers have asserted that sex trafckers who entrap minors

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in prostitution are possibly psychopathic offenders who strategize and plan out their movements to increase their success in recruiting and manipulating the most vulnerable and needy victims (Albanese, 2007; Kennedy, Klein, Bristowe, Cooper, & Yuille, 2007; Spidel et al., 2007). Pimps, or their recruiters, befriend the children by showing affection and buying them meals, clothes, jewelry, or video games in exchange for sex (Albanese, 2007, p. 3). The grooming process, called seasoning (Herman, 1992, p. 76), that is used by trafckers is a mixture of reward and punishment, acceptance and degradation; all used to produce intense loyalty and trauma bonding to the pimp (SHI, 2008a, p. 68; see also Curtis, Terry, Dank, Dombrowski, & Khan, 2008; Priebe & Suhr, 2005). Trauma bonding is dened as a form of coercive control in which the perpetrator instills in the victim fear as well as gratitude for being allowed to live (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS], n.d.; see also Herman, 1992; James, 1994; Stark & Hodgson, 2003; van der Kolk, McFarlene, & Weisaeth, 2007). Ultimately, trafckers/pimps use the minors dependency on them to coerce them into prostitution (Albanese, 2007; Priebe & Suhr, 2005). According to former prostitutes, pimps will often create a sense of ownership by giving their victims new identities and supplying fake identication, such as identication cards, drivers licenses, social security cards, and birth certicates. With a young woman or girls former identity gone, she then belongs to the pimp (Hotaling, Miller, & Trudeau, 2006, p. 185; see also, Stark & Hodgson, 2003). Minors are sometimes branded or tattooed to indicate their obedience to the trafcker/pimp, or even that they are owned by the trafcker/pimp (NCMEC, 2002). Herman (1992, p. 75) states that the supreme goal of such perpetrators is the creation of a willing victim, which is how CSTVs can appear to the inexperienced onlooker. Often CSTVs will deny they have trafckers, claiming instead that they are working to help their boyfriends (Priebe & Suhr, 2005). Investigators of minors being prostituted state that minors agree to do all trafckers ask in exchange for their affection (SHI, 2008a). An instruction manual available for those desiring to become pimps describes the effect of the grooming/breaking process on a victim, After you have broken her spirit she has no sense of self-value. Now pimp, put a price tag on the item you have manufactured (Royal, 1998, p. 65). Sex trafckers (pimps) have been described as among the worlds most common instructors in the art of torture (Herman, 2003, p. 2). Relationships built on traumatic bonds possess an intense level of loyalty or attachment. This dysfunctional attachment occurs in the presence of danger, shame, or exploitation in combination with elements of seduction, deception, or betrayal (Carnes, 1997). This misplaced loyalty has been found and documented in exploitive cults, incest families, and hostage or kidnapping situations. Farley (2004) noted that too often professionals and clinicians fail to recognize the

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presence of psychological bonding and control operating within sex trafcking experiences. Herman (1992) described the formation of this bonding: the repeated experience of terror and reprieve, especially within the isolated context of a love relationship, (or a relationship that is labeled as one) may result in a feeling of intense, almost worshipful dependence on an all-powerful, godlike authority (p. 92). In describing this tendency for increased attachment in the face of danger, van der Kolk (1989) states that people in general, and children in particular, seek increased attachment in the face of external danger. Pain, fear, fatigue, and loss of loved ones and protectors all evoke efforts to attract increased care. . . . When there is no access to ordinary sources of comfort, people may turn toward their tormentors (p. 399). The American Psychiatric Associations Diagnostics and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders cites brainwashing or thought reform as contributing factors to a type of dissociative disorder, which occurs in individuals who have been subjected to periods of prolonged and intense coercive persuasion (APA, 2000, p. 242). Kaplan and Sadock (1998, p. 862) describe brainwashing as the deliberate creation of culture shock through isolation, alienation, and intimidation in order to weaken a persons ego strengths. By this means, the person becomes vulnerable to alien ideas and behaviors that would usually be rejected. Kaplan and Sadock (1998, p. 863) state all people are vulnerable to brainwashing if the exposure is long enough, they are alone and without support, and have no hope of escaping; how much greater the vulnerability to brainwashing is for throwaway minors who have rst been romancedthen isolated, manipulated, violated, and degraded by a trafcker.

POLICY CONSIDERATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

In this nal section, we provide specic policy recommendations that address how (1) CSTVs should be treated in the justice system and (2) existing statutory frameworks provide a legal basis for these recommendations.

The Inequitable Protection and Punishment of Child Sex Trafcking Victims

As illustrated above, perspectives garnered from both the legal and psychological community converge to suggest that CSTVs should be afforded greater legal safeguards from prosecution. More specically, they should be viewed as victims of crime rather than perpetrators. Although there are federal agencies and statutes that have specically addressed child sex trafcking, too often these guidelines are not followed in all jurisdictions. Given these legal frameworks, we recommend the federal statutes (i.e., the TVPA) be adopted and enforced by states. This would appear to be a relatively simple modication as the legislation is already written. The rst step is to disseminate the federal statutes to jurisdictions so that states gain awareness.

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Given the relatively scant attention paid to child sex trafcking, it may very well be the case that many jurisdictions are unaware of the federal guidelines. To the extent that such legislation is not adopted, any legal action against a minor who is victimized by child sex trafcking should be appealed. One basis for such action would be the violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The TVPA and its subsequent reauthorizations unequivocally indicate that minors who are involved in child sex trafcking cannot be held criminally responsible for engagement in those sexual acts. Furthermore, the rulings from both the federal and state judiciaries provide guidance on the role of minors involved in child sex trafcking. Specically, as a result of psychosocial immaturity, vulnerability, and age, minors cannot legally consent to the sexual behavior involved in child sex trafcking, and therefore cannot be held criminally responsible. Thus, any state action that fails to provide protection for CSTVs is inconsistent with the equal protection clause. Other grounds, based in existing case law, can be drawn from a similar crime: child pornography. Both child pornography and child prostitution are considered forms of child sex trafcking (TVPA, Sec. 102). Unlike prostituted minors, children victimized by the crime of child pornography have been protected and not held responsible for the crime, regardless of their age or whether they gave consent. Although child pornography encompasses actions other than sexual intercourse, the production of child pornography often involves adults performing sexual acts with children, which constitutes a crime under relevant statutory rape laws. Many minors who are victims of one form of sex trafcking are victims of both pornography and prostitution. Klain and colleagues (2001) found that minors involved in prostitution are more vulnerable to pimps coercive attempts for these minors to participate in pornography. Their participation is used to gain further control and to also advertise their availability as child prostitutes. In spite of this, when a minor is arrested for prostitution the offense is often categorized as a public nuisance crime (NCMEC, n.d.) and seen as a victimless crime, apart from the detrimental and depreciating effects on the moral and market value of the community in which it occurs. When including prostitution involving minors into the public nuisance crime category, a value statement about the relative unimportance of the child-victim in comparison to the safeguarding of the community is being made. Thus, the pertinent legal issue is whether to (1) categorize this as a public nuisance and arrest the minor or (2) label it as child sex trafcking. The appropriate frame of reference in evaluating this legal quandary must center on the object experiencing the most signicant harmthe child. Yet the institutions responsible for protecting this vulnerable party have not embraced a child-victim-centered orientation. Continuing to prosecute child sex trafcking victims who have been exploited by predatory trafckers turns the very laws designed to protect societys most vulnerable and unprotected populations against them (Meiners-Levy, 2006).

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Inconsistent Legal Protection for Victims

The second policy consideration also focuses on the need for improved state antitrafcking statutes to ensure consistent protection from child sex trafckers for all minors across all 50 states. Presently only 42 states have antitrafcking statutes, with varying denitions and a wide range of penalties (Adelson, 2008; U.S. Department of State [DOS], 2010). These newly enacted state statutes are rarely applied and generally provide less stringent penalties for child sex trafcking than federal statutes (Adelson, 2008; DOS, 2010; SHI, 2008a). Differences in the penalties for the trafcking of minors among states may encourage sex trafckers to operate within certain states, perceiving that they are able to sexually exploit and prostitute minors in that location with greater immunity. Currently, persons convicted of sex trafcking by federal law enforcement agencies can face sentences ranging from 10 years to life imprisonment for sex trafcking of minors, with an increased minimum of 15 years for sex trafcking by force, fraud, or coercion or for sex trafcking involving minors under the age of 14 (DOS, 2010). These sentencing guidelines are considered to be consistent with the penalties prescribed under U.S. law for other serious crimes (DOS, 2010). The increased penalty for those who are found guilty of trafcking younger minors is comparable to an avenue that the courts have used to ensure that the severely vulnerable are more highly protected through the establishment of enhanced sentencing guidelines that authorize increased punishment for those who knowingly prey on specic vulnerabilities (United States Sentencing Guideline Manual, 2007).2 In view of the lack of antitrafcking statues in certain states as well as the inconsistent denitions and a wide range of penalties in the existing antitrafcking statutes, it is recommended statutes be passed in all 50 states that are consistent with the federal antitrafcking statutes, including increased penalties for those who are involved in trafcking the most vulnerable and youngest victims.

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Absence of Victim Shield Law for CSTV

CSTVs experience a sort of revictimization in the courtroom by having their motives and sexual history entered into the record in an effort to discredit them as witnesses. Shifting paradigms regarding the criminalization of child sex trafcking victims from schemas based on the illogical blaming of the child-victim to those focused on the consequent harm to children will necessarily require reconsideration of state laws; yet such a shift is not without precedent. Rape shield laws attempt to prevent defense attorneys from asking about a rape victims sexual history and alleged promiscuity so that the trial focuses on the defendants alleged rape (Federal Rules of Evidence, Rule 412). However, rape shield laws are not extended to protect child victims of sexual abuse (Churcheld v. State [2001]). There is no application of the rape

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shield laws to prevent the child-victim of a sex crime from being made the center of negative attention (McLain, 2003). In 2002, a bill was introduced to extend the victim shield to include all victims of sex crimes. This bill, including the shield provision, passed quickly through the Senatebut in the House Judiciary Committee a vote was not taken until the nal day. On that nal day, it passed but time had run out (McLain, 2003). As a consequence, there is no shield for child victims of sex trafcking and these victims are without the same protection afforded by law to adult rape victims. Echoing the call by McLain (2003), this bill must be reintroduced and passed. Sexually victimized minors should be offered the same protection as an adult victim of a sex crime. Framing child sex trafcking as an issue that fundamentally concerns children requires treating children differently from trafckers and worthy of certain protections.

Barriers to Change
Barriers to the implementation of the suggested policy recommendations exist. The DOSs most recent report on trafcking in persons noted the inconsistent knowledge regarding victims of human trafcking among local U.S. law enforcement professionals (DOS, 2010). This lack of awareness leads to an inability to identify victims or to provide the appropriate victim services. Law enforcement and juvenile justice professionals processing sexually trafcked minors are often faced with resistance and uncooperative victims who fear their trafckers retaliation (Reid, 2010). Although federal legislation has depicted these vulnerable minors as victims, specialized training on dealing with CSTVs is needed to convince law enforcement ofcials that such minors are not partially complicit in their sexual exploitation and victimization. In addition, local law enforcement agencies are often underfunded, and in smaller agencies other pressing priorities can prevent ofcers from attending available trainings (SHI, 2008a). In view of rising concerns and increased responsibilities related to national security, protecting child victims of sex trafcking may be considered by law enforcement professionals as a crime of lesser importance. Moreover, appropriate victim services are often unavailable (Reid, 2010). For instance, law enforcement professionals encountering CSTVs commonly have limited choices for providing safe shelter apart from juvenile justice facilities (Halter, 2010; Reid, 2010).

Lack of Scholarly Research

As noted, the implementation and success of these policies are contingent on legislatures and law enforcement agencies to recognize, appreciate, and respond to this malicious crime. Yet scholarly research targeted at improving our understanding of child sex trafcking is severely lacking, particularly

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research focused on prostituted minors (Williams & Frederick, 2009; Zhang, 2009). Therefore, the nal recommendation in this section is for increased research focused on the topic of child sex trafcking. Absent empirically based information regarding best practices for effective protection of at-risk youth and for successful intervention or treatment of sexually trafcked minors, efforts to combat child sex trafcking will continue to be severely limited. Beyond crucial research necessary to inform specialized training for law enforcement ofcials and child advocates, accurate instruction is also needed to explain the dangers and consequences of child sex trafcking to the public and at-risk youth and to expose disinformation within popular culture that glamorizes the pimp/ho relationship (Dalla, 2000, 2006; Farley, 2003; Kreston, 2000, 2005). Emerging research on sex trafckers has suggested that trafckers employ recruiters to spy out needy youth or runaways by frequenting their typical or routine locations (Albanese, 2007; Anderson & Michaelson, 2007). The psychological and mental immaturity inherent in all minors (Cauffman & Steinberg, 1995; Steinberg & Scott, 2003) suggest that minors face severe limitations in their capability to detect exploitative motives or defend against the manipulation of sex trafckers and recruiters. A factual and documented knowledge base is necessary for the preparation of prevention education targeting at-risk minors, warning them about the tactics used by sex trafckers or their recruiters to entrap victims. In this section, several recommendations have been offered in an effort to better protect child sex trafcking victims and to promote a consistent response across federal and state agencies. As opposed to viewing these recommendations and the barriers to their implementation in isolation, we suggest they should be viewed in conjunction. That is, given the gravity of the crime under examination, a more comprehensive policy is warranted.

SUMMARY
To be found guilty of a crime in the United States, one must have the capacity to know right from wrong and control ones behavior. CSTVs are traumatized, entrapped, and prostituted by trafckers. Overwhelmed due to excessive biologically based fear reactions, incapacitating dissociative states, psychosocial immaturity, and weak neurological functioning, their ability to make rational decisions may be obstructed. This colluding conguration of historical, neurological, and developmental disabilities may compromise their use of logic and reason to control their own choices. Tragically, being abused is the only way of life many of these minors have known and they may possess very little hope of escaping to something or someone better. To view such minors as criminally responsible for actions when they are (1) psychosocially immature, (2) represent the legal denition of a vulnerable victim, and (3) cannot legally consent to commercial sexual activity is not legal, ethical, or moral.

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As noted throughout this article, there are both jurisprudential and scientic rationales that articulate the lack of culpability among CSTVs. Shielding victims from any legal culpability for the criminal conduct of their sex trafckers must be ensured in all courtrooms for all CSTVs, no matter the form of the sexual exploitation or the child-victims citizenship. The legal system should not increase child-victims distress by demeaning them and criminalizing their vulnerability. Aligning with child sex trafcking victims, rather than condemning them, could speed victims healing. Discovering justice and sanctuary within the safety of the justice system could demonstrate to these vulnerable and throwaway minors that they are worthy of societal protection and are in no way responsible for their own sexual exploitation.

NOTES
1. Offenders seeking to have sex with younger minors believe that due to the minors lack of previous sexual activity infection with STIs can be avoided (Fang, 2005). However, family members or sex trafckers have most likely previously sexually abused CSTVs, even the youngest. In actuality, younger minors are at greater risk for contracting and passing on STIs to sex offenders as their smaller size increases the likelihood of anal or vaginal tearing during sexual intercourse (Hanna, 2002; Hughes, 2005; Kreston, 2000, 2005). 2. An abundance of case laws exists conrming the practice of enhanced sentencing of defendants due to the excessive vulnerability and susceptibility of victims of sex trafcking. Sentencing guidelines provide sentencing enhancement against a defendant if the victim was particularly vulnerable due to age, physical or mental condition, or was otherwise particularly susceptible to the criminal conduct. Sentence enhancements are supported due to the defendants knowledge and exploitation of a victims psychological, physical, and family problems (U.S. v. Bentley [2007]; U.S. v. Evans [2001]; U.S. v. Starr [2007]). Sentence enhancement was supported based on a victims history of previous sexual molestation (U.S. v. Snyder [1999]); based on the victims rape at the age of seven by her mothers boyfriend in combination with her mothers chemical dependency (U.S. v. Williams [2002]); based on a victims history of involvement in the juvenile justice system and lack of parental guidance due to being a runaway (U.S. v. Evans [2002]); and based on a victims youth, lack of education, naivet, and being from extremely impoverished families or street children without food or shelter (U.S. v. Jimenez-Calderon [2006]; U.S. v. Julian [2005]).

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