Victims of Child Sex Trafficking are Typically Arrested instead of Rescued

There are so many things wrong with the crime of Child Sex-Trafficking.  American girls in the U.S. are typically  victimized and enslaved into Sex-Trafficking at age 12 to 14, have a life expectancy of 7 years.   But, what happens when these children are recovered is a sad state of our current system of laws, and victim services.

The U.S. is a nation with about 300,000 victims per year of this crime, and there are less than 300 beds in the entire nation with treatment for these victims. Victims, when rescued, have many complex and interconnected problems such as brain washing, Stockholm Syndrome, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Anxiety Disorders, STD’s, and a multitude of other medical, nutritional and behavioral issues. The level of treatment requires a highly coordinated  multidisciplinary approach which includes doctors, nurses, case managers social workers, and therapists among others.

Most victims have a high degree of flight risk to return back to their pimp.  They are not capable of returning home without months, sometimes years of treatment, therapy to address the self-destructive pattern that has been ingrained in them.

Because treatment facilities don't exist, often rescue means incarceration without treatment.  Because some states laws have not yet been modified to recognize them as a victim, many are prosecuted for prostitution.

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