Combating Sex Trafficking in the U.S.: 3 Challenges

Withelma Ortiz Walker Pettigrew, known as T, spent much of her early childhood in the foster care system, and at age 10, a man who was nearly twice her age targeted her. He began to sexually exploit her and sell her to any willing buyer; this abuse continued for the next seven years. During this time, T was repeatedly arrested and charged with crimes such as solicitation and prostitution and sent to juvenile detention facilities, where she was treated as a criminal rather than a victim of serious sexual abuse and was further traumatized and humiliated by the agencies designed to help her.

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