Defining Worthy Victims: Socioeconomic Factors Associated with State-level Legislative Decisions to Prevent the Criminalization of Sexually Exploited Children in the United States

ABSTRACT The federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) includes children who are sexually exploited for commercial purposes in its definition of human trafficking victims. However, most states criminalize sex trafficked minors for prostitution. Despite this tension, little research exists on variation in state-level child sex trafficking statutes. Studying this legislation is necessary because state-level statutes often determine if children are treated as criminals or victims. Local law enforcement and service providers interact with this population more often than federal officials. This mixed methods study uses Event History Analysis and interviews with anti-criminalization advocates, state legislators, state legislative aides, and state prosecutors to examine social, economic, and political factors associated with legislative decisions prohibiting the arrest and/or prosecution of sexually exploited minors for prostitution. Statistical analyses suggest that states with a higher prevalence of concentrated disadvantage are more likely to criminalize this population. Similarly, participants in qualitative interviews describe conditions of structural economic inequality as a primary risk factor for child sex trafficking. For that reason, addressing socio-economic factors such as jobs, wages, and housing are essential for preventing minors from being commercially sexually exploited, and, as a result, being criminalized. Theoretical implications and policy recommendations are also discussed.