Preliminary Data on a Sample of Perpetrators of Domestic Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation: Suggestions for Research and Practice

Author: Gotch, Katherine

Abstract: Trafficking for sexual exploitation is one aspect of human trafficking and, in recent years, there has been an increased awareness of and focus on domestic trafficking for sexual exploitation within the United States; however, very little is known about the psychological characteristics or criminogenic (i.e., causing or likely to cause criminal behavior) risk/need factors of the perpetrators who profit from domestic trafficking for sexual exploitation. In an attempt to expand the scope of known data on perpetrators of domestic trafficking for sexual exploitation, descriptive statistical analyses looking at factors hypothesized to be related to the psychological characteristics, criminogenic risk/need factors, and potential treatment interventions were conducted on a sample of 28 adult male offenders with an arrest, charge, and/or conviction of street-level domestic trafficking for sexual exploitation behavior in their history. The results provide preliminary data regarding the developmental/environmental factors, psychological characteristics, and criminogenic risk/need factors of this offender population, as well as support the hypothesis that perpetrators of domestic trafficking for sexual exploitation behavior appear to be a unique offender population requiring specialized management and therapeutic interventions. Suggestions and implications for practice and research are also provided.

Keywords: domestic sex trafficking, perpetrators, sexual offender