One in Ten

Child sex trafficking is not a new phenomenon. And thankfully, the general public and child abuse professionals have greater awareness than ever of it. But has the full story yet been told? To what extent has the experience of boys been a part of our understanding of sex trafficking of children and youth? What places boys at special risk for trafficking? What vulnerabilities do they have and how might that affect their recruitment? And how can we tailor programs to meet the unique needs and concerns of boys? Join us as we speak with Amanda Connella, graduate research assistant at the TIP Lab, and Dr. Sandra Stone, assistant dean for graduate studies at the University of South Florida, about how we can ensure that boys are no longer invisible victims.

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (01:14)
• Kids at risk of trafficking (05:17)
• Not enough service providers for boys (14:25)
• Not enough research (18:50)
• Misperceptions about boys (20:46)
• Prevention disconnected from data (26:02)
• Advice for parents (31:15)
• Advice for child abuse professionals (38:07)
• Public policy (47:40)
• For more information (50:27)

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Children with intellectual and developmental disabilities are more than three times more likely to experience abuse and neglect than children without these disabilities. We should see a prevention landscape filled with programs tailored to these children. Yet, as Dr. Melissa Bright from the Center for Violence Prevention Research tells us, few such programs exist, and even fewer have been researched for their effectiveness. Why does so little research exist on this uniquely vulnerable population? For child abuse professionals, how might we create or adapt prevention programs for these children? And how do we approach parents and caregivers who may have questions or concerns about prevention programming for their child? Take a listen.

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (01:35)
• Unique vulnerabilities (04:35)
• Why so few prevention programs? (07:41)
• Focus groups (11:05)
• State-required prevention education (20:56)
• Advice for child abuse professionals (25:42)
• You’re not innovating if it doesn’t work (29:10)
• Public policy implications (37:37)
• For more information (40:06)

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While the presence of child sexual abuse images in child sexual abuse cases is not new, the sheer scale and scope and ubiquity of it all is. The exponential growth in the trading of these images has created a sophisticated marketplace designed around exploiting children. Three guests join us today to discuss child sexual abuse materials online (CSAM): Elizabeth and Ted Cross and Stefan Turkheimer. 

What Liz and Ted set out to learn was the degree to which incest played into the production of this material, what types of sex acts those trading in CSAM were most interested in, and what ages were most common among the child victims. It’s terribly disturbing but also important for us to understand in order to properly combat it.  

We speak with Stefan about important policy implications. What can policy makers do to hold tech companies more responsible for preventing the proliferation of these materials? And how do we leverage the resources needed to serve victims? Please take a listen.

Topics in this episode:

• The scope of the problem (2:06)
• A sea of red dots (4:16)
• Research design (12:35)
• Findings (20:41)
• Severity of abuse (24:03)
• The link with incest (28:45)
• Public policy (30:25)
• Implications for practice (38:29)
• For more information (41:25)

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The rise in myths and conspiracy theories about human trafficking have been one of the most frustrating parts of being a child abuse professional over the past few years. It has been a deadly game of whack a mole, because as soon as one myth or conspiracy theory is debunked, yet another arises.

Dr. Maureen Kenny, a professor of psychology at Florida International University, set out to explore why and how these conspiracy theories were endorsed by a diverse college population in hopes that this would give us insight into better education strategies for the wider public. If you have ever moaned and groaned your way through a media report with whackadoodle ideas about trafficking or rolled your eyes at a movie that depicted it all wrong, this episode is for you. Please take a listen.

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (1:55)
• What is human trafficking? (3:01)
• Why the uptick in myths and conspiracy theories? (5:06)
• Why we want to believe (13:13)
• Language choices (16:42)
• What kids need to know (18:49)
• Surprising findings (22:41)
• The scale of misinformation (24:41)
• Influencing the influencers (26:15)
• Future research (31:27)
• Advice for child abuse professionals (37:40)
• One bright note (38:50)
• For more information (40:10)

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Geoff Sidoli joins us from NCA’s Institute for Better Mental Health Outcomes to talk about kids with sexual behavior problems. Myths abound about why these kids act out, how treatable they are, and what treatment settings and methods may be most helpful. But research shows that these kids are treatable. So how do we set these kids on a better life trajectory and improve safety at home and in the community?

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (1:43)
• Risk factors (4:15)
• A range of behaviors (9:09)
• Myths and blind spots (12:18)
• Effective treatments (22:31)
• Research gaps (30:13)
• For more information (40:20)

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