Where are we now?

 

You can’t really know where you are going until you know where you have been.

-Maya Angelou

“America’s Renaissance Woman”. Academy of Achievement interview. January 22, 1997.

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This research project was born from my frustration of the current state of residential programs available for survivors of domestic minor sex trafficking.

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I began my studies at Arizona State University hoping to leave the program well versed in the qualities that make residential programs successful. Hoping I would be ready to perhaps start my own program, I was eager to help others, especially those who could relate to the trauma of exploitation. This capstone demonstrates this desire turned attainable project, ultimately humbled by a deeper understanding of the intersectionality of power, privilege, oppression, representation, and positionality.

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Through qualitative content analysis of websites of currently open, residential programs for survivors of sex trafficking programs were dominant narratives surrounding survivors were collected. This seeks to answer the overarching question of: Where are we now? This research seeks to provide a snapshot of a particular period of time, and then will be analyzed through thematic codification of how survivors of domestic minor sex trafficking are represented on the program websites.