The Politics of “Giving Student Victims a Voice”: A Feminist Analysis of State Trafficking Policy Implementation

Abstract

Little research explores factors shaping those policies and actors involved in state-level sex and labor trafficking prevention. This study examined the organizational, political, and normative dynamics that influenced implementation of Texas House Bill 1272 (HB 1272, 2013), which included educators in trafficking prevention. Part of a larger study that used feminist critical policy analysis and multifocal theory as overarching guideposts, findings highlight important factors bound up with policy actor enactment and normative roadblocks to successful long-term curriculum and training implementation. This study fills a gap in the educational research literature both in its unpacking of the normative politics involved in eliminating youth commercial and sexual violence experienced and thick qualitative research findings, neither of which would be possible through one theoretical or methodological device. Implications of and recommendations for educational research and practice are offered.

Keywords:

• Human trafficking
• curriculum policy
• educational practitioners
• feminist critical policy analysis

Notes

1 Mandated participation includes the following: Governor’s Office; Health and Human Services Commission; Department of Family and Protective Services; Texas Workforce Commission; Texas Department of Criminal Justice; Texas Youth Commission; Texas Juvenile Probation Commission; Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. OAG appointed memberships include representatives from the following: Texas Department of Public Safety; Texas Department of State Health Services; Texas Hotel and Lodging Association; Texas Municipal Police Association; Texas Court Appointed Special Advocates; Travis County Juvenile Public Defender; Travis County District Attorney; Alvin Police Department; Amarillo Police Department; Austin Police Department; Beaumont Police Department; Bexar County District Attorney; Bexar County Sheriff’s Department; Corpus Christi Police Department; Dallas Police Department El Paso County Sheriff’s Department; Fort Worth Police Department; Harlingen Police Department; Harris County Sheriff’s Department; Lubbock County Sheriff’s Department; Midland County Sheriff’s Department; San Antonio Police Department; Smith County Sheriff’s Department; Waco Police Department; Webb County Sheriff’s Department; Catholic Charities (San Antonio); Children’s Advocacy Centers of Texas; Children at Risk; Houston Rescue and Restore Coalition; Mosaic Family Services; National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (Texas Office); Refugee Services of Texas (Austin); North Texas High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Office of National Drug Control Policy; South Texas HIDTA; Texas Association Against Sexual Assault; Texas Council on Family Violence; Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid; West Texas HIDTA; YMCA International (Houston) Representative (Material compiled from Texas House Bill 4009 (2009) and Lemke, (2015)).

2 See Texas Education Agency. (2015). Trafficking of school-aged children. Retrieved from http://tea.texas.gov/About_TEA/Other_Services/Human_Trafficking_of_School-aged_Children/

3 One woman, who formerly worked for a Texas education agency, attended a meeting as a representative of a different State agency; a female teacher also attended a separate meeting as a representative of a religious nonprofit.

4 The following categories describe the entities who regularly participated on the Texas Human Trafficking Prevention Task Force Education Workgroup: City-Based Non-Profit (Religiously-based advocacy and assistance organization for children and families); City-Based Non-Profit (Religiously-based advocacy, programming, and safe-house for trafficking survivors); City-Based Non-Profit (Advocacy and educational programming on human trafficking); City-Based Non-Profit (Religiously-based advocacy, programming, and safe-house for trafficking survivors); City-Based Non-Profit (Law enforcement organization focused on training and education that includes city police, sheriff, and constable departments, as well as the Department of Public Safety and federal agencies); County-Based Non-Profit (Advocacy, counseling, educational programming, and mentoring for sexually abused children); Criminal Justice (Public); Criminal/Juvenile Justice (Public); International Non-Profit (Advocacy, educational programming, legal representation, and safe-house for trafficking survivors); Law (Public); Law Enforcement (Public); National Non-Profit (Advocacy, educational programming, policy, and training on child safety, commercial sexual exploitation, missing children, and family support); National Non-Profit (Advocacy, educational programming, policy, and training on child safety, commercial sexual exploitation, missing children, and family support); Regional Non-Profit (Case management, counseling, educational programming, legal representation, and shelter for trafficking, domestic violence, and refugee survivors); Regulatory (Public); Secondary and Higher Education (Public); Social Work (Public); Statewide Non-Profit (Advocacy, collaboration/training with law enforcement counseling, educational programming, and mentoring for child abuse victims).