In Dallas This Week, a Grim Look at the Area’s Sex Trafficking Trade

Back in March, we mentioned that Shared Hope International would be releasing over the course of the year 10 reports dealing with domestic minor sex trafficking and law enforcement officials’ varied responses to reports of children being sold as sex slaves. The report dealing with Dallas will be the final one released by SHI, but the organization has released its Fort Worth study — and it’s a long, troubling report that runs 157 pages and suggests not enough is being done to identify and protect victims and would-be victims of sex trafficking.

Among the report’s findings: “Domestic minor sex trafficking victims are not often identified in the Fort Worth/Tarrant County area or may be misidentified as delinquent youth, runaways, etc.”; “Estimates suggest a large population of runaway and at-risk youth may be vulnerable to becoming victims of DMST in the Fort Worth/Tarrant County area”; and “Professionals in the Fort Worth/Tarrant County area indicate a primary challenge is obtaining disclosure by domestic trafficked minors (DTMs) of their victimization.” The Dallas report will be released this week, timed to coincide with Shared Hope’s National Training Conference on the Sex Trafficking of America’s Youth being held in Dallas today and tomorrow. –Robert Wilonsky