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Director Of Sex Trafficking Research Office Weighs In On Study Results

Over the last several years, law enforcement has seen a massive increase in the number of sex trafficking cases involving minors in the U.S.

The victims are young, about 15 years old, on average, and often they’re runaways. But just who is doing this trafficking?

A new study from ASU’s Office of Sex Trafficking Intervention Research and the McCain Institute looks at who is being trafficked in America and who is doing the trafficking. And The Show’s Lauren Gilger joins us now with more on this.

They’re presenting their findings this morning on this, and for it, they looked at sex trafficking cases involving minors from 2010-2015. The study identified more than 1,400 people arrested for sex trafficking of a minor in 46 states — including Arizona. 

I spoke with Dominique Roe-Sepowitz more about this earlier this morning. She’s the director of the Office of Sex Trafficking Intervention Research at ASU. And she said we know why victims often fall prey to sex traffickers, but we don’t know who are the traffickers.

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Lauren Gilger, host of KJZZ's The Show, is an award-winning journalist whose work has impacted communities large and small, exposing injustices and giving a voice to the voiceless and marginalized.