The importance of social work lies in the ability of individuals, families, and communities to thrive. It is important to note that social work encompasses a wide range of professions. However, this creative project will examine its different dimensions, specifically…
The importance of social work lies in the ability of individuals, families, and communities to thrive. It is important to note that social work encompasses a wide range of professions. However, this creative project will examine its different dimensions, specifically within the field of criminal justice. The purpose of this thesis project is to promote social work as a profession and explore its growing impact on the criminal justice system. As part of this effort, it is also intended to dispel the myth that social workers work exclusively in child protection agencies. Viewers will be introduced to exciting opportunities for meaningful change at the emerging intersection of social work and criminal justice, which is becoming increasingly prevalent in American society. This project will also highlight how negative media (news and documentaries like Gabriel Fernandez on Netflix) about social workers employed in the DCS system do not accurately portray current circumstances. This will be accomplished through a short video/documentary-style project that interviews social workers and social service workers employed in the criminal justice field. An interview will consist of questions designed to dispel myths about social workers and promote the diversity of the profession. The purpose of this is to provide an ‘on-the-ground’ perspective of real opportunities in the community, including descriptions of various occupations and the mission of agencies that employ at the cross-section of social work and criminal justice. This is done to enhance the viewers' perception of the field and give them the opportunity to experience real-life situations.
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The purpose of this study is to determine how Costa Rica supports human trafficking survivors, with a focus on the implementation of trauma-informed care within their efforts. This exploratory study examines services provided by one non-profit to human trafficking victims…
The purpose of this study is to determine how Costa Rica supports human trafficking survivors, with a focus on the implementation of trauma-informed care within their efforts. This exploratory study examines services provided by one non-profit to human trafficking victims in Costa Rica and how their services reflect trauma-informed care practices. Research has shown that implementing a trauma-informed approach improves the quality of and receptiveness to care for individuals who have experienced trauma, including victims of human trafficking. For this thesis, qualitative-based field research was conducted in San Jose, Costa Rica. During the research process, interviews with service providers, legal professionals, and experts in the field were conducted. These interviews served to gather information on human trafficking in the country, victimization, services available for human trafficking survivors, trauma-informed care practices, and social/cultural, economic, legal, and Covid-19 related barriers that may prevent victims from seeking services or services from being provided in Costa Rica. A pre-determined set of interview questions was asked to each interviewee and this thesis is an analysis of the interview findings. This study was approved by the Arizona State University Institutional Review Board (see Appendix A). The findings indicate that Costa Rica is actively implementing trauma-informed care among the services provided to human trafficking survivors but can improve some of the practices in certain components of trauma-informed care to better enhance its implementation and thus benefit to clients and service providers.
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How to best assist LGBTQ+ young adults experiencing homelessness and reporting sex trafficking victimization is a developing field of knowledge. This study aimed to understand sex trafficking risk factors for LGBTQ+ young adults experiencing homelessness through the 2019 Youth Experiences…
How to best assist LGBTQ+ young adults experiencing homelessness and reporting sex trafficking victimization is a developing field of knowledge. This study aimed to understand sex trafficking risk factors for LGBTQ+ young adults experiencing homelessness through the 2019 Youth Experiences Survey (2019 YES) and 16 follow-up interviews. The main findings include a) the odds of being LGBTQ+ and experiencing homelessness and reporting sex trafficking victimization were 2.41 times greater (95% CI: 1.22, 4.74) than being a cisgender heterosexual experiencing homelessness and reporting sex trafficking victimization; and b) risk factors that contributed significantly to a binary logistic regression model to predict being an LGBTQ+ young adult experiencing homelessness and reporting sex trafficking victimization included having a current medical issue, having a history of dating violence, having a childhood history of sexual abuse (ACEs sexual abuse), having a history of binging/vomiting, and having a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The interviews back up quantitative data for contextualization purposes. The findings of this study confirm the need for more services for LGBTQ+ young adults experiencing homelessness and reporting sex trafficking victimization. Additionally, healthcare providers must consider screening for eating disorders among LGBTQ+ young adults experiencing homelessness and reporting sex trafficking victimization. Finally, future research on LGBTQ+ young adults experiencing homelessness and reporting sex trafficking victimization is recommended.
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When major sporting events such as the Super Bowl occur, there is a perceived increase in the amount of sex trafficking that occurs in the host city of the event. This study sought to determine if there was a direct…
When major sporting events such as the Super Bowl occur, there is a perceived increase in the amount of sex trafficking that occurs in the host city of the event. This study sought to determine if there was a direct causal relationship between major sporting events and sex trafficking, or if the perceived spike in sex trafficking was due to increased scrutiny and attention sex trafficking receives during these events. Ultimately, after examining other studies and statistics, the conclusion was that while a direct causal relationship could not be determined between major sporting events and sex trafficking, there is a lucrative opportunity and higher risk for sex trafficking to occur at these major sporting events due to the risk factors associated with the event such as the high concentration of people in the area, the party atmosphere the event fosters, and the high amount of disposable income people at the event possess. This study also examined other aspects of sex trafficking such as the scope of the crime across the world, common characteristics among victims and offenders, and strategies used to combat the problem.
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This study examined the effects of victim characteristics and past life experiences on attributions of blame to human trafficking victims in hypothetical scenarios. Specifically, this study investigates the main and interaction effects of the victim’s race, age, and victimization disclosure…
This study examined the effects of victim characteristics and past life experiences on attributions of blame to human trafficking victims in hypothetical scenarios. Specifically, this study investigates the main and interaction effects of the victim’s race, age, and victimization disclosure on outsider’s perceptions of blameworthiness. A factorial vignette survey that provided information about a victim altering her race (Black or White), current age (15 or 21), and availability of victimization disclosure was given to a university-based sample (N = 592). Utilizing three-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) for the analysis, the results showed that the main effects of the victim’s age and victimization disclosure significantly influenced attributions of blame. The results also indicated that there are significant two-way and three-way interactions. The conclusion highlights the importance of these findings as well as avenues for future research and potential programming.
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Sex trafficking of minors is a rapidly growing issue. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 criminalizes trafficking in persons and defines human trafficking as “sex trafficking in which commercial sex acts are induced by force, fraud, coercion, or…
Sex trafficking of minors is a rapidly growing issue. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 criminalizes trafficking in persons and defines human trafficking as “sex trafficking in which commercial sex acts are induced by force, fraud, coercion, or in which the person induced is younger than the age of 18”. This is a very complex crime and includes everything from recruitment, harboring, transporting, and the selling of minor victims for the purpose of sexual acts and gratification. Sex trafficking of minors can happen anywhere in the Unites States from rural areas to busy cities and according to research done by Parker & Skrmetti (2013) the majority of victims are U.S. citizens. This honors thesis explores various elements and pertinent information about sex traffickers of minors. The purpose of this paper is to describe the literature on sex traffickers who solely traffick juveniles and compare it to a study done in 2017 by Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) Vice & Sex Trafficking Investigations Unit and the Arizona State University Office of Sex Trafficking Intervention Research (STIR). This study focuses on sex trafficking cases across the whole 2014 year in Las Vegas, Nevada. The literature review in this thesis focuses on victim typology, an overview of traffickers and the techniques traffickers use. The overview includes trafficker demographics, manipulations used, the use of violence, and previous criminal histories. The techniques traffickers use covered in the literature review are: love, money, drugs, abduction, authority figures/gangs, and violence. All of this information was compiled and then compared to the study done by LVMPD & ASU STIR. Within the Las Vegas study, this thesis compared the trafficker demographics, trafficker techniques, and victim typology. There were a lot of similarities between the literature review and the Las Vegas study and minimal differences. To conclude, there were three suggestions found to combat the issue of sex trafficking of minors. The first is to provide education to at risk youth on the dangers of sex traffickers and the techniques they use. The second is to better train first responders such as law enforcement, firefighters, social workers, and EMT’s on identifying victims of sex trafficking and using a victim centered approach. The last suggestion is to enforce harsher penalties and punishments for sex traffickers of minors, making it a high risk/low reward crime.
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Human trafficking is the focus of this study and explaining the ways different communities in the world handle their specific concerns of human trafficking, with a focus on a nonprofit in each community. Human trafficking is a global issue and…
Human trafficking is the focus of this study and explaining the ways different communities in the world handle their specific concerns of human trafficking, with a focus on a nonprofit in each community. Human trafficking is a global issue and different communities address it in different ways. Human trafficking is the focus of this study and explaining the ways different communities in the world handle their specific concerns of human trafficking, with a focus on a nonprofit in each community. This thesis will focus on how three communities- Ghana, France and Spain, in the world are working with human trafficking victims. Field research at each site was conducted including meetings with service providers to explore the issue of human trafficking in the region including the laws, victimization patterns, and how the community was responding to the problem. A set of questions was asked at each site and this thesis is the summation of the findings from the field research. This study was approved by the Arizona State University Institution Review Board, (see Appendix A). The overall findings of this study found that each community need is very different, so each community response has been tailored to the victims of trafficking and what they require and must include the victim in the solution. Each location has different victims, locations and responses. Keywords: sex trafficking, France, Ghana, human trafficking, NGO, research, Spain
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The purpose of this study was to create a screening tool specifically for the identification of sex trafficking victims in the medical setting through the analysis of existing human trafficking screening tool studies geared towards use in the medical setting.…
The purpose of this study was to create a screening tool specifically for the identification of sex trafficking victims in the medical setting through the analysis of existing human trafficking screening tool studies geared towards use in the medical setting. Screening questions from these studies were compiled and modified into a survey that was distributed to healthcare professionals through the nationwide HEAL (Health Professional Education, Advocacy, Linkage) Trafficking listserv. Each screening tool study demonstrated benefits and disadvantages that were helpful in the sampling and selection of screening tool questions. The small sample size and a lack of data on the attitudes of medical professionals on sex trafficked victims were noted as limitations to this study. Further implications for this study would include validating the screening tool questions in a medical setting to determine the sensitivity of the survey in identifying patients as possible sex trafficking victims.
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