COVID-19 and Child Sex Trafficking: Qualitative Insights on the Effect of the Pandemic on Victimization and Service Provision.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Child sex trafficking (CST) is the involvement of minors in the commercial exchange of sex for goods, services, drugs, or money. The COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected many risk factors associated with CST victimization and the availability of CST services. We examined service providers' perspectives on how the pandemic affected trajectories of CST victimization among young people in the United States.

Methods

We collected qualitative data from 80 law enforcement professionals and service providers working with young people affected by CST from 11 US cities. Semistructured interviews lasted approximately 1 hour and were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim, and coded via a grounded theory approach.

Results

We found 3 overarching themes related to the

SUBMITTER: O'Brien JE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11556450 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature