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Harm and Resilience among Prostituted Teens: Broadening our Understanding of Victimisation and Survival

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 March 2010

Linda M. Williams
Linda M. Williams*
Affiliation:
Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, University of Massachusetts Lowell E-mail: linda_williams@uml.edu
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Abstract

Based on qualitative research completed in the United States on pathways into and out of commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC), this article focuses on themes of harm, resilience and survival-focused coping by prostituted teens and makes recommendations for policy and practice. The research on which it is based takes a life-course perspective on pathways into and out of CSEC. Analyses of the narratives of homeless, runaway and sexually victimised (prostituted and trafficked) teens suggest the need for a more nuanced understanding of both harm and survival that has important implications for practice and policy communities responding to human trafficking within and across borders.

Type
Themed Section on ‘Harm’, ‘Abuse’, Agency and Resilience Across the Lifespan
Information
Social Policy and Society , Volume 9 , Issue 2 , April 2010 , pp. 243 - 254
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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