Interdisciplinary Conference on Human Trafficking at the University of Nebraska
Date of this Version
10-2009
Document Type
Article
Citation
Pierce, A. (November 2009). Shattered hearts (full report): The commercial sexual exploitation of American Indian women and girls in Minnesota. Minneapolis: Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center.
Abstract
Table of contents
Acknowledgements iii
Background 1
Organization of the report 3
I The context 4
Native women’s experiences during colonization 5
Native women’s experiences during national expansion 7
Native girls’ boarding school experiences 8
Impact of assimilation policies on Native women 10
The damage caused by life in prostitution 14
II Methods and definitions 16
III Prevalence 28
Involvement in prostitution 28
Involvement in the Internet sex trade 35
IV Patterns in entering the sex trade 36
Age of entry 36
Modes of entry 39
V Factors that facilitate entry 53
Generational trauma 53
Runaway, thrown away, and/or homeless 54
Repeated exposure to abuse, exploitation, and violence 61
Normalization of sexual exploitation and violence 68
Addiction 73
Risk due to fetal alcohol spectrum disorders 78
Involvement with child protection systems 81
Failure to finish high school 82
Mental and emotional vulnerability 84
VI Barriers to exiting the sex trade 89
Inadequate support to ensure safety 89
Limited resources for support and healing 93
Dependency, denial, and distrust of advocates 96
Fear, shame, and the “don’t talk” rule 98
Absence of a common, evidence-based approach 99
VII Conclusions and recommendations 101
Appendix 122
Included in
Civil Rights and Discrimination Commons, Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Human Rights Law Commons, Indigenous, Indian, and Aboriginal Law Commons, Indigenous Studies Commons, Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons, Sexuality and the Law Commons, Social Control, Law, Crime, and Deviance Commons
Comments
Copyright (c) 2009 Alexandra Pierce