![Sample our Health and Social Care journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5938/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Health-Social-Care.jpg"})
ABSTRACT
Commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is not a new problem. However, due to the evolution of its conceptualization, CSEC has garnered the attention of child welfare professionals and communities across the nation. Many victims tend to come from vulnerable populations with a serious history of previous abuse, suggesting a significant overlap with youth involved in the child welfare system. Furthermore, commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) results in significant psychological trauma and negatively impacts development. Child welfare agencies are tasked with addressing the problem through screening, intervention, and treatment. Due to the role that trauma plays in both predisposing youth to CSE and its significant, complex consequences, a trauma-informed approach to working with CSEC is imperative. In this article, the authors apply a survival sex hierarchy model to CSEC, discuss its goodness of fit with the tenets of trauma-informed care, and identify clear implications for trauma-informed child welfare practice and policy.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Amber R. McDonald
Amber R. McDonald, PhD, LCSW, MSW - Dr. McDonald’s research is rooted in understanding effective prevention and intervention strategies for persons who’ve experienced trauma. Dr. McDonald has extensive experience in trauma informed systems of care, behavioral health, forensic interviewing, complex trauma, and program and curriculum development. She is a part-time faculty member at the Kent School of Social Work.
Jennifer Middleton
Jennifer Middleton is an Associate Professor in the Kent School of Social Work at the UofL and Director of the UofL Human Trafficking Research Initiative. Dr. Middleton leads multiple federally-funded, interdisciplinary research projects examining the impact of trauma-informed organizational change interventions within systems of care that serve sex trafficked populations and address community violence within refugee, Tribal, urban, and rural community contexts. She recently completed a five-year $3.9M federal grant project that created a trauma-informed system of care for children directly impacted by the opioid epidemic. Dr. Middleton is currently the Director of Implementation for a new five-year $5M SAMHSA grant aimed at addressing community violence, trauma, and inequities in west and south Louisville. Dr. Middleton is an active member of numerous local, state, national, and international human trafficking initiatives and is fully trained in the Sanctuary Model®. During her forensic social work career, Dr. Middleton interviewed and provided services to over 4,000 sexually exploited and trafficked children and youth.