To coincide with National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the National Research Council (NRC) have released a PowerPoint presentation focusing on highlights of their report Confronting Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Sex Trafficking of Minors in the United States. The presentation shares findings on how schools, law enforcement, victim services, businesses, the legal system, and health care providers can collaborate to prevent, identify, and respond to commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of minors.

In 2013, the IOM and the National Research Council released a report on domestic trafficking for sex.  The report Confronting Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Sex Trafficking of Minors in the United States, painted a very complex picture with a challenging task in addressing domestic trafficking.  The 456 page report, commissioned by the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) was conducted with the direction that they address and make recommendation concerning strategies for responding to commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of minors in the United States, new legislative approaches, and a research agenda.

The overall conclusions were:

 

  • There is substantial and compelling evidence that commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of minors in the United States are serious problems with immediate and long-term adverse consequences for children and adolescents, as well as for families, communities, and society as a whole.
  • Efforts to prevent the commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of minors in the United States are essential but largely absent.
  • Efforts to identify and respond to the commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of minors in the United States are emerging, with some noteworthy examples, but efforts to date are largely undersupported, insufficient, uncoordinated, and unevaluated.
  • Efforts to prevent, identify, and respond to commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of minors in the United States require collaborative approaches that build upon the core capabilities of people and entities from a range of sectors.
  • Efforts to address commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of minors in the United States need to confront demand and the individuals who commit and benefit from these crimes.

 

 

Much of their analysis and recommendations revolve around stronger collaboration across various field with justice and law enforcement taking a lead role.  Their recommendation regarding training include a range of professions that may interact with victims including but not limited to parents and caregivers, teachers and other school personnel, students, physicians and other health care providers, child welfare professionals, community- and faith-based organizations, law enforcement personnel, attorneys in juvenile and criminal courts, judges in juvenile and criminal courts, mental health professionals, and social workers.

The report also calls for a central database and suggests that OJJDP create a digital information-sharing platform to deliver reliable, real-time information about how to prevent, identify, and respond to commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of minors. They suggest that Justice should partner with an independent, unbiased entity with robust technological capa­bilities to create and maintain this platform.