Human trafficking is an issue that affects every country
around the globe. In the United States, one of the biggest challenges to
combating this form of modern-day slavery is a lack of awareness and
understanding.

January is National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, and Devereux
Advanced Behavioral Health wants to highlight the urgent need to prioritize the
fight against this serious crime and violation of basic human rights. The roughly
$150 billion-per-year industry involves the use of force, fraud or coercion to lure
victims – often children – and force them into labor or commercial sexual
exploitation.

Child
sex trafficking in the U.S.

According to Shared Hope International, a
nonprofit organization that works to bring an end to sex trafficking, 300,000 to
500,000 children under the age of 18 are lured into the commercial sex trade every
year in the U.S. The most common ages of children who are sex trafficked are 14
to 16.

“There was a time when we thought child sex trafficking was
only a problem in developing nations, but we now know it exists in every state
in the U.S.,” said Senior Vice President and Chief Clinical/Medical Officer Yolanda Graham, M.D. “There are
certainly some states where child sex trafficking is more prevalent than
others. In general, states with larger international airports or a booming
tourist or entertainment industry are at risk for having higher levels of child
sex trafficking.”

While there is no standard profile of a victim of child sex
trafficking, there are several risk factors that may make certain children more
susceptible, including if they have experienced prior sexual abuse, are in the foster
care system or are runaways or homeless.

Devereux’s
CSEC treatment and recovery program

Devereux’s residential Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children
(CSEC) program provides sophisticated treatment for both girls and boys from
around the country, ages 10 to 21, who have experienced emotional, physical and
sexual trauma.

“Because we know that boys make up nearly 50 percent of
child sex trafficking victims in the U.S., all youth – regardless of gender –
who enter into our programs are screened for commercial sexual exploitation,”
said Dr. Graham. “We recognize that if we only ask girls if they’ve been
sexually exploited, then we miss out on treating boys who’ve also been impacted
by sexual trauma, but may be less likely to voluntarily disclose that
information.”

Devereux’s CSEC services – currently available in Georgia,
Florida, Pennsylvania, Arizona and Texas – offer individual and group therapy
to address the complex traumas of exploited youth, while also providing a sense
of community. Devereux works with youth to instill skills to develop healthier
lifestyles, improving their ability to safely and successfully reintegrate into
their families and communities.

To learn more about Devereux’s CSEC services, click here.
To learn more about Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health, click here.

The Devereux Center for Resilient Children (DCRC) was awarded a contract with the Texas Center for Child and Family Studies (The Center) to provide resilient leadership training following Hurricane Harvey.

Devereux is honoring the teachers/special education teachers and nurses who selflessly and tirelessly give of themselves to improve the lives of those living with emotional, behavioral and cognitive differences.