Topic: Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents: Services for Victims
Definition for Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents: Services for Victims:
Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents: Services for Victims is defined by the CEBC as services for youth aged 17-years-old and younger who have engaged in, solicited for, or been forced to engage in sexual conduct or performance of sexual acts (e.g., stripping) in return for a benefit, such as money, food, drugs, shelter, clothing, gifts, or other goods or for financial or some other gain for a third party. The sexual conduct may include any direct sexual contact or performing any acts, sexual or non-sexual for the sexual gratification of others. These acts can be live, filmed, or photographed and still constitute sexual exploitation. Commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents may include prostitution, pornography, trafficking for sexual purposes, and other forms of sexual exploitation. The youth is treated as a sexual object and as a commercial object. The sexual exploitation of the child may profit a much wider range of people than the immediate beneficiary of the transaction.
When this topic area was posted in Spring 2013, commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents was a crime that had only recently received significant attention in the United States and around the globe. While the U.S. Department of Justice estimated in 2012 that the number of children and adolescents (those under the age of 18) involved in prostitution, child pornography, and trafficking could be anywhere between 100,000 and 3,000,000, knowledge of this type of exploitation and public response to the problem was and is still evolving. There is a growing and compelling literature on domestic sex trafficking of girls in the United States and some about the commercial sexual exploitation of boys as well. Domestically trafficked youth comprise the majority of the victims of commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents in the U.S. More informally, survivors of commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents have also begun to speak out about the crime.
- Target population: Youth aged 17-years old and younger who have engaged in, solicited for, or been forced to engage in sexual conduct or performance of sexual acts in return for a benefit
- Services/types that fit: Outpatient, day treatment, and residential services in individual or group formats
- Delivered by: Mental health professionals or trained paraprofessionals
- In order to be included: Program must specifically target youth who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation
- In order to be rated: There must be research evidence (as specified by the Scientific Rating Scale) that examines youth outcomes, such changes in symptom levels, behaviors, and functioning
Programs in this Topic Area
The programs listed below have been reviewed by the CEBC and, if appropriate, been rated using the Scientific Rating Scale.
Topic Expert
Linda Williams, PhD, Professor
Criminal Justice & Criminology Department, University of Massachusetts, Lowell
Lowell, MA