NCJ Number
164228
Date Published
1996
Length
5 pages
Annotation
The sexual exploitation of children and youth requires an interdisciplinary approach based on recognition that the children can be far more effective as participants in the adjudication process if their physical and emotional needs are adequately addressed.
Abstract
An interdisciplinary team includes police, child protection workers, medical personnel, mental health providers, prosecutors, and victim advocates. More than 300 communities now have children's advocacy centers that house many of these professionals in a single, child-friendly location. However, these teams and centers are rarely involved in cases involving prostitution and pornography. Special task forces have been created to adapt the multidisciplinary team concept to the unique features of child sexual exploitation cases. These groups typically included representatives of Federal investigative agencies and police agencies. To ensure that victims' needs are adequately represented, the Office for Victims of Crime and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention have supported an initiative to include victim advocates or service providers in these task forces and to train Federal personnel to appreciate the need to work closely with these individuals. A document has been produced to encourage investigators, prosecutors, and victim services personnel to work more collaboratively in child sexual exploitation cases. Unresolved issues include how to promote greater attention to these largely invisible cases, given the limited resources of responding agencies; how to help victims who do not identify themselves as victims; and how to prevent sexual exploitation of children and youth. Footnotes