RT Article
T1 Laypersons’ recognition of and attribution of blame in situations involving domestic minor sex trafficking
JF Psychology, crime & law
VO 30
IS 9
SP 1041
OP 1059
A1 Winks, Kaitlin M. H.
A2 Lundon, Georgia M.
A2 Henderson, Hayden M.
A2 Quas, Jodi A.
LA English
YR 2024
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1906275807
AB Successful identification of domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST) remains challenging. Laypersons could play a significant role in identifying victims, but only if laypersons recognize trafficking situations as such and do not incorrectly attribute responsibility to victims. In the current study, we examined laypersons’ perceptions of situations highly suggestive of DMST. Participants (N = 320), recruited from an internet-based crowd-sourcing platform, read a vignette describing a highly suspicious situation involving a minor and adult in a hotel room with cash on the minor’s person. Participants answered questions about what they thought was happening and about their general knowledge of trafficking. The vignette systematically varied the age (13, 15, 17 years) and gender (boy, girl) of the victim to include the most common ages and genders of known DMST victims. Overall, just over half (61%) of participants recognized that a crime occurred, more often with younger (70%) than older (55%) minors. Participants tended to place some responsibility on older minors for their situation, as did participants who exhibited lower levels of general knowledge of trafficking. Overall, the results reveal substantial limitations in laypersons’ understanding of DMST, including who is responsible, highlighting the need for targeted educational campaigns to improve that understanding.
K1 adolescent victims
K1 Minors
K1 layperson perceptions
K1 Commercial sexual exploitation
K1 Sex trafficking
DO 10.1080/1068316X.2022.2139377