Setting the Standard: Meeting the Needs of Sex Trafficked Black Girls in the State of California
Abstract
The sex trafficking industry has become glamorized in recent years, with films like
the movie Taken (2008) shaping America's perception of the industry. The film portrays
an upper-middle class White teenage girl's abduction by a sex trafficking ring during
a trip to Paris. Films like these do not accurately depict the everyday experiences
of trafficking victims and do not properly highlight how poverty, racism, and emotional
abuse are oftentimes the leading factors that make girls vulnerable to sex trafficking.
Due to systemic racism, intersecting layers of oppression, and cultural bias, Black
girls are disproportionately affected by domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST) in
the United States.
In this thesis, I will examine California’s service provision for victims of domestic
minor sex trafficking. I seek to answer the question: How can California best meet
the service provision needs of Black girls affected by DMST? My thesis utilizes scholarly
literature to inform a framework for understanding the needs of trafficked Black girls.
Using insights from scholarly literature and drawing original qualitative data from
interviews with experts working in the DMST space, I explore the ways in which California
can best meet Black girl’s service provision needs. Both my literature review and
expert interviews grounded my policy recommendation aimed at promoting stronger service
provision for Black girls.
Type
Honors thesisSubject
domestic minor sex traffickingservice provision
culturally responsive trainings
Black female victims of domestic minor sex trafficking
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/27331Citation
Battle, Gabrielle (2023). Setting the Standard: Meeting the Needs of Sex Trafficked Black Girls in the State
of California. Honors thesis, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/27331.Collections
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