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Child sexual abuse (CSA; i.e., physical or nonphysical sexual acts with a child under the age of 18 in which there is no or limited capacity to provide true consent) can occur through online exploitation, child pornography, and the luring of children offline for sexual encounters.

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Over 5.8 million people in the U.S. were victims of violent crime (e.g., domestic violence, sexual assault), in 2019.1 In the same year approximately 678,000 children were victims of abuse or neglect.

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Victims of crime sometimes require compensation to cover the expenses associated with being a victim (e.g., medical expenses).

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Victims of violence (VoV) often face a variety of obstacles to disclosing their victim status, which prevent them from receiving help. Victim services programs and organizations, which are often financially supported through the Crime Victims Fund, advocate for victims and connect them with necessary services.

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In 2018 [1], over 6.3 million people experienced a threatened, attempted, or completed violent crime such as rape, sexual assault, domestic violence, robbery, aggravated assault, or simple assault.[1] In addition, approximately 678,000 children were victims of abuse or neglect [2] and over 16,000 people were murdered.[3] These victims and their families need immediate and long-term services.

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Among the many distressing ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a heightened risk for family violence including both child maltreatment and intimate partner violence.

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Violence (e.g., physical, psychological, and sexual) is unfortunately common and often results in victims needing immediate and long-term services.

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This issue presents research-informed policy recommendations regarding the effects of COVID-19 on welfare-youth, and human trafficking and exploitation. The prevalence of human trafficking heightens with the growing impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable communities.

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Human trafficking is the crime of using force or fraud for the purpose of compelled labor or a commercial sex act. The United States considers “trafficking in persons,” “human trafficking,” and “modern slavery” to be interchangeable umbrella terms that refer to both sex trafficking and labor trafficking.

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Human trafficking involves individuals being compelled to work, provide services or engage in commercial sex through the use of force, fraud or coercion. COVID-19 has negatively impacted the screening and identification of human trafficking victims as well as reduced survivors’ access to the mechanisms associated with successful recovery (e.g., case workers, social workers and legal assistance).

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Stressful situations combined with increased drug and alcohol use set the stage for potentially dangerous situations, especially for youth in abusive homes. Youth who consider school a safe haven may now be confined at home with their abusers.

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The Coronavirus has forced many families to make significant changes in their daily lives, limiting access to important resources that strengthen family functioning and well-being.

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Nationwide, stay-at-home or shelter-in-place orders have been issued in response to COVID-19 in order to facilitate physical distancing practices.

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There is Good News. China has turned the curve on the coronavirus (no new cases as of 3/19/20); South Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong internationally are containing the virus….but America is not ready.

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This is an official statement of the Society for Community Research and Action, Division 27 of the American Psychological Association, and does not represent the position of the American Psychological Association or any of its other Divisions or subunits.

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Due to issues of confidentiality that often prevent data and information sharing, the established bureaucratic process often doesn’t allow organizations to collaborate.

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Trauma-informed care (TIC) refers to strategies that agencies, programs, and service providers can use to understand, identify, and respond to individuals who may have experienced trauma.

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Domestic violence and child maltreatment co-occur in 30-60% of families experiencing violence. Yet agencies serving children and adults too often fail to coordinate, resulting in disjointed, erratic and less effective services, leaving children and adults experiencing violence and trauma unidentified, untreated, and less safe.

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Survivors of domestic violence often need to leave their residence in order to escape abuse and it is vital the abuser not be able to find them. In order to keep survivors safe, it is important they remain hidden from their abuser.

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American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/NA) women are at an incredibly high risk to be the victim of violence. Recent estimates suggest over 500 unsolved cases nationwide of missing and murdered AI/NA women.

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High quality programs are the most successful and cost effective. These programs should focus on cultural and regional relevance, violence across genders, and risk reduction.

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This brief summarizes child trauma and the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN)

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Trafficking in persons is defined as the recruitment, transportation or acquisition of persons by force, coercion, fraud, deception, the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person for the purpose of exploitation (UN Palermo Convention).

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The Kids Are Not All Right: Policy Options to Address Youth Trauma in Massachusetts

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Promising Approaches to Reduce Youth Violence

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Middle School Violence: Keeping Students Safe?h3>

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Preventing Family Violence

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Preventing Adolescent Violence in the District of Columbia