Childhood Maltreatment and Child Protective Services Involvement Among the Commercially Sexually Exploited: A Comparison of Women Who Enter as Juveniles or as Adults

Abstract

A risk for commercial sexual exploitation is childhood maltreatment. It’s unknown whether juveniles in commercial sexual exploitation experience more childhood maltreatment than adults or how involved child protective services is in investigating maltreatment, a focus of this study. Women (N = 96) who sold sex commercially completed a cross-sectional questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, t tests, chi-squares, and odds ratios were used to examine differences in background, childhood maltreatment, and child protective services involvement by juvenile or adult entry. Although 93% of participants experienced child maltreatment, juveniles had increased odds of parent/caregiver sexual abuse, being left alone, being kicked out, and running away from a parent/caregiver. There were no differences in cumulative childhood maltreatment resulting in an investigation or removal, indicating that juveniles not investigated or removed by child protective services had as much childhood maltreatment as juveniles who were investigated or removed by child protective services. Results highlight the need for child welfare staff to recognize childhood maltreatment as risks for commercial sexual exploitation.

Keywords:

• CPS investigations
• physical abuse
• prostitution
• sexual abuse
• sex work

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Tarrant County Criminal Court No. 9 and The Net for their contributions in collecting data for the study.

Funding

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Innovative Community Academic Partnership Program at the University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work.

Additional information

Funding

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Innovative Community Academic Partnership Program at the University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work.

Notes on contributors

Andrea N. Cimino

Andrea N. Cimino, PhD, MSW, is a faculty research associate at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. Her research focuses on gender-based violence with a specific focus on the street prostitution exiting process.

Elissa E. Madden

Elissa E. Madden, PhD, LMSW, is an assistant professor at Baylor University. Her primary research interest is in child welfare.

Kris Hohn

Kris Hohn is a doctoral student of social work at the University of Texas at Arlington.

Courtney M. Cronley

Courtney M. Cronley, PhD, MSW, is an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work, whose scholarship focuses on the context of care for individuals who are underserved in traditional homeless service settings.

Jaya B. Davis

Jaya B. Davis, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Texas at Arlington. Her primary research focus is in areas of female victimization and juvenile justice.

Karen Magruder

Karen Magruder, LMSW, is an assisted living ombudsman at the Senior Source in Dallas, Texas.

M. Alexis Kennedy

M. Alexis Kennedy, PhD, JD, is an associate professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Her areas of research interest include trauma, child abuse, sexual assault, exploitation through prostitution, and domestic violence.