Project title:

Sex Trafficking Risk Assessment: Development of a Screening Tool and Exploring Impact of COVID-19 on Risk Factors.

About this project:

Victims of sex trafficking are overrepresented in the child welfare system. Very little knowledge is available on the particular risks of youth involved with child protective services and the unique ways in which they are accessed and recruited compared to those who are not involved with child protective services. For this reason, it is necessary to pursue community-based research that will inform the development of a screening measure used for identifying youth within child welfare who are at an increased risk for being involved with sex trafficking. Our current mission is to work alongside Children's Aid Society agencies to develop prevention and intervention efforts aimed at sex trafficking.

Data collection:

Data collection is set to begin in the fall of 2020. Interviews will be conducted with Workers who are currently caring for a girl between the ages of 13-18 years old. Information regarding their impressions of these risk factors as well as their feedback on the utility of the screening measure will be collected. Additionally, we hope to obtain impressions regarding the impact of COVID-19 on these risk factors.

Contact:

For more information about this project, please contact Dr. Jennifer Connolly at connolly@yorku.ca.