While many women involved in the sex trade meet the legal criteria to be considered a sex trafficking victim, engagement in sex trafficking specialty court programs remain low. Although these programs offer benefits to participants, barriers impede engagement. One reason for low engagement may be that some women do not self-identify as a “trafficking victim,” and therefore do not see the program as being meant for them. To investigate this potential barrier, the current study was completed in partnership with three sex trafficking specialty court programs and one non-profit in Ohio. We conducted a cross-sectional, retrospective survey of 74 women to explore their self-perceptions of victimhood before and after entering the court program. These findings stand to educate criminal justice actors on how women with experiences of trafficking view and label their experiences over time. By better understanding the experiences and self-perceptions of those who have experienced trafficking, these programs can potentially help more individuals benefit from their resources who would otherwise be left out.
Mahon et al. (2026) studied this question.