My Body, My Choice: An Adapted Sexual Health Intervention for Youth with Histories of Commercial Sexual Exploitation

Abstract

Youth with commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) histories experience high rates of unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, with few interventions targeting their needs. We therefore piloted an evidence-based sexual health education intervention tailored for CSE-impacted youth, My Body, My Choice (MBMC). MBMC was implemented in two rounds between March and October 2021 with a total of 37 youth who completed a baseline questionnaire, engaged in a 13 to 16-hour online course over two to three weeks, and then assessed the course’s likability and feasibility via a post-course evaluation survey. To measure sexual health knowledge retention and attitudes, follow-up questionnaires were administered at baseline, 1-month, and 3-months post-course. Descriptive and bivariate analyses examined demographic characteristics and differences between timepoints. Most participants identified as female (92%), and Latinx (57%) or Black (27%). Overall, youth had an improved understanding of sexual health concepts over time, with significantly increased knowledge regarding birth control methods such as IUDs and condoms. Youth expressed high rates of satisfaction with MBMC, with 93% seeking continued course access. Findings underscore the utility and acceptability of MBMC and may inform future interventions to reduce health disparities and improve sexual health outcomes among youth with CSE histories.

KEYWORDS:

• Sexual health
• commercial sexual exploitation
• child sex trafficking
• youth
• adolescent
• intervention research

Acknowledgments

We thank the participants who gave of their time and perspectives in support of this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Declarations and Ethic Statements

This study has been approved by the UCLA Institutional Review Board (IRB# 19–000507) and the Los Angeles Superior Court. Researchers obtained informed written consent from all participants in the study and attorney permission per Los Angeles Superior Court regulations.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by The UCLA Pritzker Center for Strengthening Children and Families Grant. Dr. Barnert’s time was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse [K23DA045747]. The information, content and/or conclusions are those of the authors and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by NIH, UCLA, or the U.S. Government.