Sex Trafficking in the United States : Theory, Research, Policy, and Practice

In Sex Trafficking in the United States, Andrea J. Nichols explores the dynamics of sex trafficking from the angles of survivors, traffickers, buyers, and the social service and criminal justice professionals who work in the field. She examines common risk factors for those who become victims, and the barriers they face when they try to leave. She also looks at how and why sex traffickers enter the industry, the prevalence of bought sex, and the criminal justice policies that target them.

Sex trafficking is analyzed in this book from neoliberal, abolitionist, feminist, criminological, and sociological perspectives. Nichols examines the role of weak social institutions and weak social safety nets in contributing to increased risk of sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. She also explores the link between identity based oppression, societal marginalization, and the risk of victimization. She clearly accounts for the role of race, ethnicity, immigrant status, LGBTQ* identities, age, sex, and intellectual disability in heightening the risk of trafficking. She analyzes responses to sex trafficking, and how social services and the criminal justice and health care systems can best respond. Sex Trafficking in the United States also offers recommendations for individual action, prevention, practice, and policy, as well as suggestions for cultural and societal change.

While particularly emphasizing the United States, the book also holds use in examining global dynamics of sex trafficking, in detailing the theoretical and political debates that are present internationally as well as nationally, examining outcomes of various models of prostitution policy around the globe, and highlighting anti-trafficking organizations operating both internationally and nationally.