From the President

Presentation on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking

By Shirley Gentilini, MSW, LCSW

In September, Michelle Talley, LCSW, Jolene Hui, LCSW, and I attended a meeting presented by Kim Biddle, MSW, and volunteers who work with child victims of human trafficking.  We learned that those in the sex trafficking industry recruit these young victims under the age of 18 to work as prostitutes.

The average age of those entering into the commercial sex industry in the U.S. is 12 years old. (U.S. Department of Justice, Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section) and 80 percent to 90 percent of sexually exploited children have a history of child sexual abuse. The National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Throwaway Children (NISMART) estimate that 1.6 million children run away from home each year in the U.S. A pimp will recruit one in three teens within 48 hours of leaving home and becoming homeless (www.savinginnocence.org/about/the-problem/).

Kim Biddle, MSW, a USC graduate, is the founder and executive director of Saving Innocence.  Biddle’s vision is to end commercial sexual exploitation of children, restore their innocence, and enable them to feel worthy. Her agency works with local law enforcement, social services providers, and schools.

Saving Innocence provides intensive case management services, group therapy, crisis intervention, mentoring, survivor advocacy, and training.  It also includes other community-based agencies to ensure the needs of the youth are being addressed.

Kim informed us on ways a social worker assists the victims when they go to court. The social worker helps them prepare and practice their testimony when they come before the judge. The support of a social worker helps the client to overcome fear and intimidation from their pimp who will also be present.

To help these young victims, many resources are needed — safe housing, medical care, counseling, court advocacy, mentorship, education and jobs.

Representing NASW at this event, I learned what a valuable and necessary agency this is: an agency that could use more assistance. I asked what NASW could offer to the agency that provides such critical assistance to the young victims.

One way is to increase awareness about the sex human trafficking of young victims. You can visit their website at www.savinginnocence.org. You may want to become a volunteer in an area of your expertise or a counselor who helps prepare the young victims who go to court to defend themselves. Donations are always needed.

Domestic minor sex trafficking is a far greater problem than one could imagine. We are grateful that Kim Biddle and her staff are working on this. To increase awareness of sex trafficking, you may want to ask her to give a workshop at your unit/regional meeting. As we learn more, perhaps other social workers will join to help.

You may also want to learn more about the sexual exploitation of young victims and how you can help.  UCLA Professor Michelle Talley, LCSW, attended this meeting and is willing to share her knowledge around the issue of sexual exploitation of young victims. Professor Talley can be reached at talley@luskin.ucla.edu.