The purpose of this study was to describe the post assault support needs of college students who identify as sexual and gender minority after a sexual assault. The study employed participatory action research in the form of a photovoice study wherein participants took photographs to describe their support needs after sexual assault. The study…

In this transcendental phenomenological study, we interviewed 10 counselors who have clinical experience working with sex trafficking survivors. Through in-depth individual interviews, participants discussed their lived experiences providing counseling to this population. Our analysis revealed four primary themes: (a) counselor knowledge:…

This study was to understand employee experiences receiving sexual assault disclosures from college students. Eight employees, each from different functional departments, at one higher education institution in the northeast participated in the study. Using Bronfenbrenner's (1977) ecological systems theory as a framework for the study, employees…

Childhood is the period during which physical and mental development is extremely rapid from the first years of life. Furthermore, many basic factors affecting the future lives of individuals start to be shaped. The child's future life, psychological well-being, and quality of life are negatively affected by the exposure to unwanted situations by…

Despite prevention efforts, young women, particularly college students, experience sexual victimization at alarming rates, and do not always receive trauma-responsive treatment to address the devastating acute and long-lasting post-assault symptoms. Grounded in theory and research on trauma and sexual violence, the authors introduce a new…

Sexual assault among college students is a prevalent occurrence. Researchers found sexual assault on college campuses have been present for decades. Six percent of males have been found to experience a sexual assault during college enrollment while the incidence increases to 19%-26% for females. Studies continue to report sexual assault is a…

Providing treatment to survivors of human trafficking requires mental health professionals to understand complex layers of multiple traumas. These layers include an understanding of how trafficking occurs; what gender, ages, sexual orientations, life circumstances, and ethnicities are most at risk to be trafficked; the lasting impact of…

This article describes how a Tulane early childhood mental health clinic provided trauma-informed care for a young, severely maltreated child victim of human trafficking. Effective treatment included two evidence-based therapies and psychiatric care over a span of 2 years. Therapists made decisions about intervention in response to fluctuations in…

California's state youth correctional system, the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), is violent, isolated, and lacks accountability. Fights and riots are a part of daily life and create a culture of fear. DJJ's violent conditions are concealed by an absence of state oversight and the facilities' long distances from youths' families and…

The social justice issue of human sex trafficking is a global form of oppression that places men, women and children at risk for sexual exploitation. Although a body of research exists on the topics of human trafficking, literature specific to the mental health implications for counselors working with this population is limited. Counselors should…

Determining whether a child was sexually abused is a tremendous clinical and legal challenge. In litigation, abuse is established--proven--with evidence. Evidence includes testimony from witnesses, hearsay statements, documents, and physical evidence such as semen, genital injury, and fingerprints. There are two types of witnesses: lay witnesses…

This article addresses what, if any, psychotherapeutic interventions should be provided to meet the emotional and clinical needs of alleged child victims of sexual abuse while they await judicial determinations from the family, dependency, or criminal courts. The discussion emphasizes that to minimize iatrogenic outcomes, professionals involved in…

The article will address the global and local issue of human trafficking. An estimated 20,000 people are trafficked within the U.S. each year. Trafficked people are forced, defrauded and coerced into labor and sexual service for profit of others. Traffickers use individual vulnerabilities and immigration status, language ability and poor…

The aim of this study was to investigate group sex offenses with regard to the role of leaders versus followers and to compare both groups on levels of psychopathology, intelligence, and psychosocial and offense-related characteristics. Eighty-nine adolescent group sex offenders (mean age = 14.9, SD = 1.4) referred by the police to the Dutch child…

This study investigated the reliability and validity of the Attitudes Toward Sex Offenders Scale (ATS) measurement by assessing attitudes of counselors in training towards juvenile sex offenders. The specific aims of this study were to determine (a) internal consistency of the ATS, (b) construct validity of the ATS based on exploratory factor…