Safe harbor law: pre- to post-implementation change in service providers’ knowledge and response to sex trafficking of minors

ABSTRACT

Over the past decade, the majority of states in the United States have enacted laws that include legal protection and/or rehabilitative services for juvenile victims of human trafficking. This mixed-methods study investigates the effect of safe harbor legislation on key agency personnel’s awareness, knowledge, and capacity for responding to sex trafficking of minors (STM) from pre-implementation to post-implementation in Kentucky. Service providers’ perceptions of the effectiveness of the safe harbor law post-implementation were also examined. Telephone surveys were conducted with 323 service providers in 2012−2013 pre-implementation of the safe harbor legislation and again in 2016−2017 (n = 365) using a semi-structured interview tapping into the professionals’ experiences with cases of STM and the perceptions of these respondents regarding the impact of the law. Significant positive changes in the provision of training, the use of trafficking-specific protocols, collaborations with other providers, and the treatment of youth victims were detected from pre- to post-implementation. Some unintended consequences were also noted in how cases are perceived and handled in several service sectors. Increased training, funding, and solutions for legal and placement issues, which continue to challenge communities’ responses to STM, are needed to improve the impact of safe harbor legislation.

KEYWORDS:

• Commercial sexual exploitation
• juveniles
• child
• legislative reform

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute of Justice [2015-MU-MU-0009] and received a Research Support Grant from the University of Kentucky Office of the Vice President for Research.

Notes on contributors

Jennifer Cole

Jennifer Cole, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at the University of Kentucky Center on Drug and Alcohol Research with an appointment in the College of Medicine, Department of Behavioral Science. She is also affiliated with the University of Kentucky Center on Trauma and Children. Dr. Cole’s research interests are victimization and substance abuse.

Ginny Sprang

Ginny Sprang, Ph.D., is a Professor at the University of Kentucky in the College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Executive Director of the University of Kentucky Center on Trauma and Children. Dr. Sprang has published extensively on violence, maltreatment, and traumatic stress in families, children and professionals.