Project title:
Sex Trafficking Risk Assessment: Development of a Screening Tool and Exploring Risk and Protective Factors.
About this project:
Victims of sex trafficking are overrepresented in the child welfare system. Because youth rarely self-report, the onus for identification often falls on child welfare workers. In 2017, in partnership with three Ontario child welfare agencies, the TRL launched a participatory action research project aimed at preventing the trafficking of child welfare-involved youth. This collaboration resulted in an ongoing study to develop a screening tool designed to help workers identify youth at risk of sex trafficking. First, we partnered with child welfare workers, survivors of sex trafficking, and trauma therapists to design and refine the questions for the screening tool. Next, we launched the preliminary screener with two child welfare agencies, collecting data on over 600 youth. Lastly, we validated the psychometric properties of the screener to further refine the screener. In partnership with the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, the TRL continues to work closely with agencies to roll out the York-Simcoe Sex Trafficking Screener (YST) across Ontario.
Data collection:
Data collection occurred at two time points and was completed in June 2024. Workers completed the YST for their youth between the ages of 11 and 24. Additional information was collected including youth demographics, youth child weflare history, and worker characteristics.
Related Projects:
Uncertainty in sex trafficking judgements by child weflare workers.
- This independent research project examined why child welfare workers are often unsure when making judgements about their youths' sex trafficking status. An ecological-based decision-making framework was used to understand the worker and youth factors that contributed to workers' uncertainty.
Developmental disability and sex trafficking risk.
- This Honours Thesis aims to understand the difference in sex trafficking risk for child welfare-involved youth with and without a disability.
Sex trafficking risk and adverse childhood experiences.
- This Honours Thesis examines the link between sex trafficking risk and adverse childhood experiences.
Presentations and Publications:
Connolly, J. [chair]. (2025, June 14). Sex trafficked youth in Canada: Addressing the federal call for action through a research partnership with child welfare agencies. [Symposium]. Canadian Psychological Association 2025 Convention, St. John’s, NL, Canada.
Connolly, J., Benvenuto, K., Makow, D. S., Beribisky, N., Asghari, M., Orr, S., & Davidson, L. (2025, June 14). Constructing a sex trafficking screening tool for child welfare workers: Substantive, structural, and external validity. In J. Connolly (Chair), Sex trafficked youth in Canada: Addressing the federal call for action through a research partnership with child welfare agencies [Symposium]. Canadian Psychological Association 2025 Convention, St. John’s, NL, Canada.
Makow, D. S., Benvenuto, K., & Connolly, J. (2025, June 14). Uncertainty in sex trafficking judgements by child welfare workers: An ecological decision-making approach to analysis. In J. Connolly (Chair), Sex trafficked youth in Canada: Addressing the federal call for action through a research partnership with child welfare agencies [Symposium]. Canadian Psychological Association 2025 Convention, St. John’s, NL, Canada.
Benvenuto, K., Niyogi, O., & Connolly, J. (2025, June 14). A closer look: The experiences and risk factors identified among child welfare youth victims of sex trafficking. In J. Connolly (Chair), Sex trafficked youth in Canada: Addressing the federal call for action through a research partnership with child welfare agencies [Symposium]. Canadian Psychological Association 2025 Convention, St. John’s, NL, Canada.
Contact:
For more information about this project, please contact Dr. Jennifer Connolly at connolly@yorku.ca.
