Factors influencing adolescent pregnancies with intent for child trafficking in selected vulnerable communities in Nigeria: A qualitative exploration

In accordance with the United Nations Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking, intentional adolescent pregnancies for the purpose of child trafficking are a grave violation of human rights, demonstrating egregious exploitation. This study examines the determinants of deliberate adolescent pregnancies aimed at selling newborns to child traffickers in Nigeria. Employing a qualitative design, purposive sampling was utilized to select 46 participants, including eight pregnant adolescent girls (aged 11 to 16), seven family members of the pregnant adolescents, six community leaders, and twenty-five community members. Semi-structured in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were used. Audio-recorded interviews were meticulously transcribed and translated from Ibibio to English by certified language experts to preserve meaning. Thematic analysis employed identified themes and sub-themes. Data underwent coding, categorization, and analysis using ATLAS.ti qualitative software. Determinant factors influencing deliberate pregnancies among adolescent girls for child trafficking include socioeconomic vulnerability, marital infertility, societal pressure, money rituals, criminal exploitation, limited education access, and inadequate legal protection. A holistic approach addressing socioeconomic disparities, cultural norms, criminal networks, legal protections, and education empowerment offers promise to eradicate buying and selling of babies. By confronting these factors, Nigeria can forge a safer, more equitable future for its adolescent girls.

Child Trafficking: What School Nurses Need to Know

Human trafficking is a severe form of child abuse and maltreatment. Cases are pervasive and no demographic, socioeconomic status, community, or school is immune. The most effective response to human trafficking in school settings requires increased awareness and establishing policies, protocols, and procedures that support collaborative response to suspected human trafficking. School nurses are well equipped to lead these efforts. While the National Association of School Nurses acknowledges the importance of the role of the school nurse in child trafficking response in their Human Trafficking Position Statement, resources to aid school nurses in coordinated recognition and response efforts remain limited. This article reviews clinical guidance on human trafficking through a school-based lens, highlights indicators that should alert school nurses to the risk of trafficking, outlines best practices for response to abuse and exploitation, and provides additional tools and resources available to aid school nurses in their approach to caring for children experiencing trafficking.

Evaluation of Services for the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Youth: A Scoping Review

Commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) of youth is a public health issue with multiple negative consequences. Despite the complexities and comprehensiveness of service needs for youth experiencing CSE, the evidence base of effective services and programs lags far behind. This scoping review seeks to identify the most up-to-date evidence on programs for youth experiencing CSE that have been evaluated and found to be effective. We conducted a scoping review of current literature, including peer-reviewed articles as well as gray literature using a scientific approach to identify programs and service provisions specifically focused on youth experiencing CSE and examine empirical evidence for their effectiveness. A comprehensive search of five databases was completed in September 2020 then updated in April 2021 to identify relevant publications from January 1, 2000 to present. Additional program mining was conducted on evaluations of programs mentioned in the search results. A total of 3,597 citations from the database searches were screened for title and abstract and 190 citations were included for full-text review. The search process yielded 11 eligible articles with one additional report found through program mining. Identified programs targeted youth, providers, and consumers of CSE. While scientific rigor was not high, all included studies reported positive outcomes. Evidence base for effective services and programs is sparse. While more programs and services are being developed, studies should use rigorous research designs to test the effectiveness of these programs and services. Implications for practice and policy are discussed.

Juror Decision-Making in a Child Trafficking Case: The Impact of Defendant and Victim Gender, Defendant Age, and Defendant Status

There has been an increase in human trafficking in Canada from 2018 to 2019, which suggests a rising trend in human trafficking, and as such, the number of court cases are likely increasing. Because of this, the current study sought to examine how a defendant and victim's gender, and defendant social status and age impacted mock jurors' decision-making in a child trafficking case. Participants (N = 584) read a mock trial transcript depicting a child trafficking case. They were then asked to render a verdict, answer questions relating to perceptions of the victim and defendant and rate their level of agreements on statements concerning sex and human trafficking. Although there was no effect on dichotomous verdict, mock jurors attributed higher guilt ratings to the male trafficker. Moreover, participants reported more favorable perceptions of the victim when the trafficker was female, and the victim was male compared to female. Participants also reported more favorable perceptions of the victim when the trafficker was of high social status and younger compared to older. Additionally, when mock jurors were well-informed about trafficking victim blaming did not occur. The results of the current study provide some insight into juror perceptions of child sex trafficking cases.

The unequal impact of Covid-19 on the lives and rights of the children of modern slavery survivors, children in exploitation and children at risk of entering exploitation

This article discusses the unequal impact of Covid-19 on the lives of the children of survivors of modern slavery, child victims of exploitation and children at risk of exploitation in the UK. It draws on research that has analysed the risks and impacts of Covid-19 on victims and survivors of modern slavery. It explores how pandemic responses may have hindered these children's rights to education, food, safety, development and participation and representation in legal processes. It suggests that the pandemic should be used as an impetus to address inequalities that existed pre-Covid-19 and those that have been exacerbated by it.

Partners for Vulnerable Youth and the Alliance for Children in Trafficking: Using the Policy Circle Model as a Framework for Change

The National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP) was the first-ever professional organization for nurse practitioners (NPs) and remains dedicated to advancing the NP role to improve child health. In 2016, NAPNAP Partners for Vulnerable Youth (NPVY) was established as a 501(c)(3) to take a leadership role in advocacy and education efforts for at-risk pediatric populations. NPVY launched the Alliance for Children in Trafficking (ACT), with far-reaching implications for nursing leadership to leverage expertise from collective organizational membership to improve health. This paper will demonstrate use of the Policy Circle model as a framework for planned policy change.

"It takes a community to save a child": Child trafficking knowledge of the Portuguese community

This study aims to explore the knowledge of the Portuguese community on child trafficking. Through an online inventory, with a sample of 492 community members, with a mean age of 40.53 and mostly female (70.7%), participants were more knowledgeable about forms of exploitation, risk and vulnerability factors, the profile of the victims, and the situation in Portugal about child trafficking. On the contrary, they were less knowledgeable about the dynamics of child trafficking. Having a college education, and contacting with the subject through informal or/and formal sources were predictors of a higher level of knowledge of child trafficking. This study reinforces the importance of the community as a whole in fighting child trafficking. To protect children against child trafficking, public policies should prioritize the role of the community. An empowered community can actively contribute to the prevention, signaling, and (re)integration of victims of child trafficking.

White Paper: Recognizing Child Trafficking as a Critical Emerging Health Threat

Human trafficking is a pandemic human rights violation with an emerging paradigm shift that reframes an issue traditionally seen through a criminal justice lens to that of a public health crisis, particularly for children. Children and adolescents who are trafficked or are at risk for trafficking should receive evidence-based, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive care from trained health care providers (HCPs). The purpose of this article was to engage and equip pediatric HCPs to respond effectively to human trafficking in the clinical setting, improving health outcomes for affected and at-risk children. Pediatric HCPs are ideally positioned to intervene and advocate for children with health disparities and vulnerability to trafficking in a broad spectrum of care settings and to optimize equitable health outcomes.

Before Saying "I Do": Legal and Policy Considerations for Facilitating Clarity on Human Trafficking and the Protection of Children in Albania

Data available on victims of human trafficking in Albania does not appear to point to a significant problem of human trafficking in the country. For example, from the years 2016 to 2018, 61 persons were officially determined to be victims of human trafficking, in a context where the average population for that period was 2,871,978 persons. However, beneath this representation of an ostensible average level of trafficking in Albania are signs which seem to be suggestive of a more serious problem in the country. Reports, for example, indicate that authorities have sometimes associated trafficking with a transnational element, while challenges have continued to be posed to the identification of those involved in forced begging, particularly unaccompanied children, street children, and children crossing borders. In addition to highlighting and assessing evident challenges that exist in the identification of real and potential victims of trafficking and the gaps that exist in the protection of children and vulnerable groups in law and in practice, this report provides clarity on the meaning of human trafficking and what could be done to provide a clearer picture of victims of trafficking in Albania. As Albania is being considered for accession negotiations in respect of entry into the European Union, the time is opportune to address challenges and gaps to the prevention and response to trafficking particularly given the European Commission's concerns on human trafficking and child trafficking in Albania.

Psychological Consequences of Human Trafficking: Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Trafficked Children

Trafficked children are frequently exposed to multiple traumatic events, including during their recruitment, transit, and exploitation. It has been hypothesized that such exposures can lead to the development of Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Complex PTSD includes (in addition to the core PTSD symptoms of re-experiencing, avoidance, and hyperarousal) disturbances in affect regulation, dissociation, self-concept, interpersonal relationships, somatization, and systems of meaning. This historical cohort study aimed to investigate Complex PTSD in trafficked children with a diagnosis of PTSD and compare these with nontrafficked controls exposed to single or multiple trauma. Trafficked children were identified by keyword searches of the electronic health records of more than 250,000 mental health service users; a matched cohort of nontrafficked children was randomly selected. Regression models compared the number of Complex PTSD symptoms in trafficked children and non-trafficked children who had experienced multiple or single trauma. Fifty-one trafficked children were identified: eleven with a diagnosis of PTSD (22%). A high proportion of trafficked children with PTSD had Complex PTSD symptoms. Trafficked and non-trafficked children with PTSD who had been exposed to multiple trauma showed a greater number of Complex PTSD symptoms compared to nontrafficked children with PTSD exposed to single-event traumas. Somatic symptoms were noted for almost two-thirds of the trafficked children but only 10%-11% of the nontrafficked children. Child trafficking and multiple trauma exposure are associated with more complex posttraumatic presentations. A thorough clinical assessment at intake is crucial to ensure additional symptoms can be meaningfully incorporated into treatment plans.

"Otis": A Case Study of an Online Attempt to Purchase Children for Sex

The researchers analyzed court documents to develop a case study of an individual convicted of buying sexual services from exploited children. Findings indicate that the subject deviates from preexisting victim selection processes and demonstrates characteristics inconsistent with existing sexual offender typologies that likens offender behaviors to the hunting techniques and behaviors of predatory animals. As evidenced in the case study, the individual perceived the victims solely as a means of deviant sexual satiation and did not participate in traditionally established victim acquisition techniques. In addition, the researchers propose adopting terminology that adheres to the term consumer rather than buyer as it better represents some offenders' disconnect and lack of empathy in the victim acquisition process.

Child trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation: a review of promising prevention policies and programs

Child trafficking, including commercial sexual exploitation (CSE), is one of the fastest growing and most lucrative criminal activities in the world. The global enslavement of children affects countless numbers of victims who are trafficked within their home countries or transported away from their homes and treated as commodities to be bought, sold, and resold for labor or sexual exploitation. All over the world, girls are particularly likely to be trafficked into the sex trade: Girls and women constitute 98% of those who are trafficked for CSE. Health and safety standards in exploitative settings are generally extremely low, and the degree of experienced violence has been linked with adverse physical, psychological, and social-emotional development. The human-rights-based approach to child trafficking provides a comprehensive conceptual framework whereby victim-focused and law enforcement responses can be developed, implemented, and evaluated. This article highlights promising policies and programs designed to prevent child trafficking and CSE by combating demand for sex with children, reducing supply, and strengthening communities. The literature reviewed includes academic publications as well as international and governmental and nongovernmental reports. Implications for social policy and future research are presented.