Invisible children:
An exploratory examination of child trafficking in the United States

West, Amanda Elizabeth

The University of Utah, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2014. 3642421.

The trafficking of children in the United States for both sex and labor is a growing phenomenon. The trafficking of humans in general is a profitable business rivaling that of the drug trade in its depth and breadth. The impact of trafficking can have severe health consequences for victims, including extreme psychological trauma as a result of their experiences. As a result, community services developed to aide in the recovery of victims of child trafficking are attempting to mitigate the impact of those experiences and return children to a life of normalcy. However, little is known about victims of child trafficking in both research and practice settings, resulting in a need to gain insights into this population. This dissertation addresses this need by exploring the experiences and observations of service providers working with victims of child trafficking in the United States. It addresses multiple aspects of child trafficking through three articles that will present findings based on three separate research studies.