Youth sex trafficking is a Vermont problem

Feb. 2, 2023  |  By Linda Johnson

Why do children and youth run away from home and how does this make them vulnerable to being trafficked? 

The answers to these questions are both simple and complex. Children run away when home is not safe and does not meet their needs in multiple ways. Children and youth have an urgent need for safety, and for physical and emotional support. They are loyal to those who care for them, even when their caregiver fails to protect them, or even harms them. When children and youth leave their families they have reached a crisis point after lacking safety and hope for a long time. This leaves them particularly vulnerable to being seduced by others who may exploit and extort them. 

Those that lure and manipulate children know exactly how to overcome their resistance and fears. They know how attention, compliments, gifts, fun, affection and money can begin to create a sense of family, belonging, and safety for which all children and youth hunger.

Trafficking DOES happen to Vermont children and youth. In 2022 there were 42 reports with allegations of sex trafficking of minors submitted to the Vermont Department for Children and Families, an increase from the average of 27 cases per year from 2017-2021. We who care about children and families must work together to prevent this growing problem of crimes against children.

The department further explains that “most of the youth identified in these reports were being trafficked while living at home with a family member. The youth identified have been mostly female.”

To address the problem of trafficking, more resources are needed for children and youth in homes where parents are struggling, especially with addiction. Parents with addictions to opioids and alcohol often neglect their children’s needs, leaving these children to take care of themselves. 

Intergenerational trauma leads to greater mental and physical health needs and to vulnerability that can result in being trafficked, addicted to drugs, and to a life greatly damaged. To ensure we can meet the needs of all our children and youth, Vermont must commit to further investment in mental health services and prevention. Children and youth who need immediate intervention may be inattentive, sleepy, have inadequate clothing, be absent from school without reason and exhibit atypical hunger. 

There are many issues that need to be addressed urgently, such as child care, access to safe housing and food insecurity. In addition, it is imperative that we work together to ensure that children have safe, nurturing childhoods so that they can thrive. 

If we ignore the needs of children and youth, we do so at everyone’s peril. Many social ills such as crime, poverty, and addiction stem from childhood trauma. Either we succeed together by investing in the work of prevention, supporting families before the children are abused or become victims of trafficking, or we will pay a more painful familial, social, and financial price.

Vermont must build on its practices of caring for one another in even deeper structural ways, building a healthier, safer society, or we will see the number of children and youth who are sex trafficked each year grow. It is up to each of us to use our voices to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.

Linda Johnson is executive director of the nonprofit Prevent Child Abuse Vermont, based in Montpelier.