1. Domestic Child Sex Trafficking &The Sexual Abuse to Prison Pipeline
April 2, 2017
Maheen Kaleem
Staff Attorney, Rights4Girls

2. What is the Sexual Abuse to Prison Pipeline?
The Sexual Abuse to Prison Pipeline is a term to describe the pathways of gendered violence that lead girls into the juvenile justice system.

3. What types of gendered violence are girls experiencing?
Sexism at home, in the community, and larger society
Harmful misrepresentations in the media about women and girls of color as hypersexualized, aggressive, etc.
Sexual abuse in the home and in the community
Sexual violence and harassment in school
Experiencing or witnessing domestic violence
Teen Dating Violence
Domestic Child Sex Trafficking
Keep this in mind over here.

4. Rates of Justice Involvement for Girls
The share of girls in the juvenile justice system is rising at every point (Sherman & Balck, 2015)
Arrests: 45% increase (20%-29%)
Court: 40% increase (20%-28%)
Detentions: 40% increase (15%-21%)
Post-adjudication probation: 44% increase (16%-23%)
Post-adjudication placement: 42% increase (12%-17%)
Girls are NOT becoming increasingly violent (OJJDP, 2014)
Girls account for only 10% of violent felonies
On the justice system end we look at the fact that girls are becoming increasingly involved.

5. Rates of Sexual Abuse Among Girls in the Juvenile Justice System
Nationally, 73% of girls in JJ have experienced some kind of abuse
49% of young mothers in one study reported sexual abuse
In South Carolina, 81% of girls reported sexual abuse
In Florida, 84% report being victims of family violence
In Oregon, 93% of girls experienced physical or sexual abuse, 76% of girls have experienced
In California, 81% physical or sexual abuse, 56% sexual abuse (1998)
When we peel back the layers we find that justice-involved girls experience disproportionate amounts of sexual abuse. In fact, CSA is a primary predictor for justice involvement.

6. Girls in the Juvenile Justice System Experience:
Disproportionate experience of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES)
High rates of depression and PTSD
Negative and disparate health outcomes
Disproportionate rates of sexual violence, specifically childhood sexual abuse
What are they coming in with.

7. What Girls Enter the System With: A Snapshot

8. Justice-Involved Girls & Adverse Childhood Experiences
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES): emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional neglect, physical neglect, violent treatment towards mother, household substance abuse, household mental illness, parental separation or divorce, having an incarcerated household member.
Girls in Juvenile Justice
Nearly 2x as likely as boys to report 5 or more ACES
45 % of girls v. 27.1% of boys
Rates of sexual abuse are more than 4x higher for girls than for boys
31% of girls v. 7% of boys
But we have to start at the beginning.

9. Mental Health & Girls in the Juvenile Justice System
Higher rates of PTSD
65% of girls in JJ had experienced some form of PTSD in their lives and 48.9% were experiencing it while in custody (NCTSN 2004)
80% of girls in JJ had at least one mental health disorder v. 67% of boys
Major Depression: 28% of detained girls v. 11% of detained boys experience major depression
Co-morbid substance abuse and mental health
Higher rates of suicidal ideation
Sexual abuse is uniquely linked to substance use and mental health

10. Where We Fail: Responses to Sexual Violence
Question: What are abusers telling girls will happen to them if they report violence? How do our responses exacerbate or reinforce those messages?
When survivors are not met with a trauma-informed response, they:
Engage in self-harm
Engage in substance abuse as a form of self-medication
Have difficulty identifying safe and positive adults
Engage in avoidance behavior such as running away
Engage in other risky behaviors
Perpetrate harm against others as a form of protection

11. Pathways for Girls into the Juvenile Justice System after Sexual Abuse
Status offenders
Running away is the most common offense for which girls are arrested
Truancy
Substance Abuse
Dual System /Crossover:
Children are typically crossed over from dependency to delinquency
The underlying reason for their involvement in the system is ABUSE
NOTE: Mandatory arrest/misdemeanor simple assault/ DV charges
Domestic Child Sex Trafficking
Federal law defines any person under the age of 18 as a victim of child sex trafficking, a severe form of human trafficking
Girls are routinely arrested for prostitution or offenses committed while being sexually exploited
Good research on the trauma of detention
How does crossover happen in DC?
Children of color, particularly girls, are disproportionately impacted by crossover
Child welfare intervention may be possible since the definition of “abuse” includes sexual exploitation and prostitution, but not sex trafficking, and a child victim could receive services through child protective services since the definition of “person responsible for the welfare of the child” includes those with “temporary care” of the child.
Also mention other laws related to abuse of minor/ statutory rape

12. The Sexual Abuse to Prison Pipeline & Girls of Color
Youth of color are 45% of general youth population, but girls of color are 66% of girls who are arrested
Black Girls and Native American girls were 20% more likely than white girls to be formally petitioned (Sherman and Balck 2015)
African-American girls are 14% of youth population, but are 33% of girls arrested
Girls are 76% of children arrested for prostitution, and African-American children are 61% of children arrested for prostitution
African American Girls are 3x as likely to be referred to court than their white peers (Sherman and Balck 2015)
Girls are 20 to 25% of JJ population, but 33 % to 50% of all dual status youth & African-American children are disproportionately impacted by crossover
The crossover pathway is especially significant for African-American youth, who are involved in the child welfare system at 2.26 times their representation in the general population of children148 and, once there, are disproportionately likely to become involved in the juvenile justice system.149 A study of one county found that 27 percent of African-American girls in juvenile detention had an open child welfare case compared to 7 percent of youth overall and 13 percent of African-American boys.150 Research shows that children of color in the child welfare system face disparities in outcomes compared to white youth. They are less likely to be reunited with families, more likely to be placed in congregate care settings, less likely to exit child welfare with a permanent family, and face worse long-term outcomes in academic achievement, health, and other areas than their white peers.151

13. What is Domestic Child Sex Trafficking?
Sex trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting of a person for the purposes of a commercial sex act, in which the commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age (22 USC § 7102).  
Domestic Child Sex Trafficking (DCST): a form of commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC)
recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, patronizing, soliciting or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act” where the victim is a
U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident under the age of 18.
No force, fraud or coercion necessary
Other terms: domestic minor sex trafficking, CSEC
How many people have heard of Human Trafficking?
How many people have heard of DCST?

14. Profiles: Who are the Victims?
U.S. Citizens: 83% of confirmed victims ( )
Minors: 53% of confirmed victims were under 17
Boys and Girls- data for boys is scarce
Youth with learning and developmental disabilities
Runaway & Homeless youth
LGBT youth
Youth experiencing abuse within home
Youth in Child Welfare System: 60-70%
Migrant youth & unaccompanied minors
Youth involved or connected to gangs and street economy
Youth who have witnessed family conflict or violence in home
Disabilities– connection to school

15. Domestic Child Sex Trafficking and School Pushout
Truancy
Disconnection
Moving around
Justice-Involvement
Isolation
Victimization at School
Stigma and Harassment
Disciplinary responses to students’ trauma
Intersections between Trafficking and Students with Disabilities (IEPS)

16. How does our Delinquency System Exacerbate this Trauma?
If sexual abuse/violence are about control over the body, then what are some of the ways that our system practices can be re-traumatizing?
Shackling/restraints
Room confinement
Searches
Decisions about where you will go, when you will eat, etc.
Loud Noises
Yelling
If you already have an inability to trust that the adults around you will protect you, what might some of your fears be?
We have to call it for what it is

17. Why does the Sexual Abuse to Prison Pipeline exist?
Mythologies about Girls of Color
“hyper-sexual”, “fast”, “hostile”, “grown”
Attitudes towards family
Lack of Data
No accessible data on girls of color in the system
No data on number of pregnant youth in custody
No screening for sexual abuse or trafficking
Refusal to Prioritize the Lives of Marginalized Girls
Civil Rights/Justice Reform
Human Rights
Economic and Social Opportunities
Pervasive Rape Culture that glamorizes exploitation and accepts that people can be commodified
Mythologies: -
Devaluing: these are the children we cast away.
- No data, low-risk = high need

18. What Can We Do?
Identify when girls are experiencing sexual violence, abuse and trafficking
Create and institute prevention and intervention programming in schools and in the community
Develop alternatives to detention and criminalization that are gender-responsive and trauma-informed
Use the resources in the community to develop a multi- disciplinary response to address the needs of victims of child sex trafficking
Change the conversation with our children and with our community about who are girls are
Healthy masculinity
Alternative to detention- WAWF Young Womens Initiative and DV Diversion program
Change the conversation- talk about NST

19. What is a Trauma-Informed Juvenile Justice System?
A service system with a trauma-informed perspective is one in which programs, agencies, and service providers:
(1) routinely screen for trauma exposure and related symptoms;
(2) use culturally appropriate evidence-based assessment and treatment for traumatic stress and associated mental health symptoms;
(3) make resources available to children, families, and providers on trauma exposure, its impact, and treatment;
(4) engage in efforts to strengthen the resilience and protective factors of children and families impacted by and vulnerable to trauma;
(5) address parent and caregiver trauma and its impact on the family system;
(6) emphasize continuity of care and collaboration across child-service systems; and
(7) maintain an environment of care for staff that addresses, minimizes, and treats secondary traumatic stress, and that increases staff resilience.
(The National Child Traumatic Stress Network)

20. But really…what does it mean to be Trauma-informed?
Take into account impact of trauma on behaviors
Avoid triggering trauma reactions
Focus on assisting that person in coping with trauma rather than solely on behavior in front of you
For the girl focus on:
Safety, Trustworthiness, Choice, Collaboration, Empowerment
(Covington, 2013)

21. Relevant Federal Legislation
Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act of 2014
Required that any agency receiving Title IV-E dollars develop a plan to screen for, identify, and support victims of child sex trafficking within their care
Required that child welfare agencies and law enforcement report youth missing from care to NCMEC
Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act (2015)
Clarified that there is no third-party exploiter requirement to be considered human trafficking, and that buyers can be prosecuted under federal human trafficking statutes
Amended CAPTA to make clear that domestic child sex trafficking is a form of child abuse that child welfare agencies can respond to
Specifically to address concern that child welfare agencies were only responding to trafficking if parent or guardian was exploiter

22. Iowa & DCST Strengths Opportunities for improvement
Definition of child abuse includes commercial sexual exploitation, prostitution, child pornography,a nd those at risk of being trafficked
Victim-witness protections: CCTV, GAL appointment
Opportunities for improvement
Defense based on consent of the minor still admissible
Prostitution laws apply to minors under 18 but minor can be referred to Dept. of Human Services for child welfare services

23. Additional Recommendations
Comprehensive healthcare services for marginalized populations and a recognition that trauma and mental health are public health issues
Supporting pathways to employment and stability for populations vulnerable to trafficking
An honest conversation about the demand for children and why it exists
Ending practices that criminalize victims and instead holding exploiters, abusers, and traffickers accountable

24. Resources Rights4Girls National Child Traumatic Stress Network
National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, National Girls Initiative

25. Contact Information
Maheen Kaleem L Street NW, Suite 605 Washington, DC (202)