Child Sex Trafficking Report- Maricopa County Collaborative December 2020
Between 2017 and 2020, 291 children in Maricopa County were confirmed victims of child sex trafficking. These disturbing findings are outlined in a report released by the Arizona State University Office of Sex Trafficking Intervention Research, Mercy Care, and the Phoenix Police Department and funded by the Arizona Governor’s Office of Youth, Faith and Family. This report reviews child sex trafficking victims reported to the Maricopa County Child Sex Trafficking Collaborative between 2017 and 2020.
The Maricopa County Child Sex Trafficking Collaborative is a unique community initiative that was developed to serve child victims of sex trafficking through a multidisciplinary and holistic perspective. Details about the victims, how they were referred to the Collaborative, their guardianship, and information about the impact of COVID-19 are included in this report.
Findings include:
- 291 child sex trafficking victims over three years (this equals six school buses full of children).
- The age of the child sex trafficking victims has steadily dropped since 2017
- A 29% increase in child sex trafficking victims identified from March to October 2020 compared to March to October 2019.
- An increase in child sex trafficking victims having their parents as guardians, instead of being in the custody of the Arizona Department of Child Safety
Read the report here:
