Adolescent girls exploited in the sex trade: infromativeness and evasiveness in investigative interviews

Author: Lindholm, Johanna; Cederborg, Ann-Christin & Alm, Charlotte

Abstract: This study explores the informativeness of 24 adolescents exploited in sex trade in Sweden when they were interviewed by police officers about their experiences. The questions and responses were analysed using coding types developed for research on forensic interviews. Qualitative analyses of the questions resulting in evasive responses and the court files were also done. The findings show that the adolescents were informative yet evasive, specifically when asked open questions. Experiences of violence and interviews conducted soon after the police intervention may result in higher levels of evasiveness. Concurrently, evasiveness seems to be intimately connected to unique circumstances in each case.

Keywords: investigative interviews, children, human trafficking, procurement