Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking in the United States (Report‪)‬

Attention to the issue of human trafficking has greatly increased in social work literature and the media in recent years. Cases of international sex trafficking have increased public awareness about human trafficking in the United States, yet many people remain unaware that more U.S. citizens are victims of sex trafficking than are foreign nationals (Hughes, 2007). Recent research suggests that American youths are the most vulnerable to becoming victims of sex trafficking in this country. Since this discovery, experts in the field have begun to refer to this crime against children as "domestic minor sex trafficking," or DMST (Clawson & Goldblatt Grace, 2007; Shared Hope International, 2007). In this article, current definitions of and statistics related to DMST are presented. Those groups most at risk for becoming DMST victims are identified, as are some of the prevailing reasons that DMST exists. Gaps in services for this population are identified, along with appropriate and distinct roles for social work in addressing this issue. LEGAL CONNECTION BETWEEN HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND PROSTITUTION OF MINORS