Arrest as a way out: understanding the needs of women sex trafficking victims identified by law enforcement

The traditional picture of human trafficking is one in which women and children from distant locales are coerced, lied to, and abducted; then sold into sex slavery all over the world without the knowledge or resources to escape. Although these scenarios frequently occur (Muftic and Finn 2013), we ignore the very real plight of women and children who are exploited in the U.S. by focusing attention only on those who are relocated from their country of origin. Recent estimates indicate that almost 250,000 children in the U.S. are at risk for sexual exploitation (Walker-Rodriguez and Hill 2011); however, no estimates are available to determine the extent of the problem of human trafficking exploitation and victimization among women. Further, there is reason to believe that sex trafficking prevalence estimates grossly underestimate the true prevalence rate (Clawson et al. 2009), as the overwhelming majority of sex trafficking cases are never detected; and if detected, they are rarely prosecuted (Bales and Soodalter 2009).