International Journal of Coercion, Abuse, and Manipulation Volume 3 2022 82
Addressing Other Identified Vulnerability
Research shows that career counseling strategies can
be best applied to personal achievement and poverty.
However, addressing the other categories identified by
Humphreys’ research is not without merit. Other factors
that increase susceptibility to sex trafficking, such as an
LGBTQ+ identity, technology, and parenting methods,
can be aided by career counseling approaches. For
example, addressing career needs in the LGBTQ+
population may give these youths a sense of purpose
and future, decreasing the likelihood of them searching
for it from an individual looking to lure them into
the sex industry (Kotrla, 2010). Advocacy is part of
the identifiable ethical standards set by the American
Counseling Association and should be associated with
all forms of counseling, including career counseling
(ACA, 2014).
Career Counseling Strategies and Sites to Prevent
Youth Susceptibility to Trafficking
Because sex trafficking is a prevalent issue affecting
youth, counselors can prevent victimization through
preventive career counseling that addresses personal
achievement and poverty in various settings. For
example, school counselors are in optimal positions
to reach youth at all levels through comprehensive
school counseling programs. The American School
Counselor’s Association Mindset and Behaviors (2020)
states that students “identify long and short-term
academic, career, and social/emotional goals” and
“demonstrate ability to delay immediate gratification for
long-term rewards” (p. 2). These behavioral standards
are particularly important to address when helping
youth avoid temptations based on the immediate
gratification promised by sex traffickers.
Youths can be reached in settings such as colleges,
clinical mental health counseling agencies, and private
counseling practices. College career counselors can
motivate students to pursue long-term career goals, and
clinical counseling sessions can focus on issues such as
self-efficacy, motivation, and other specific behaviors
that make youth particularly vulnerable to trafficking.
A discussion of strategies that could be employed at
each level and setting follows.
Elementary Education
To impact personal achievement and thus reduce
susceptibility to sex trafficking, elementary school
counselors can incorporate fun career awareness
activities into school, including career fairs, dress up
career days, job shadowing, and college shirt days.
Career interest inventories help students learn about
their values and interests. School counselors can assist
students in planting the seed to explore careers online
and offer activities that help reinforce researching
careers. Collaborating with classroom teachers to
integrate career lessons into routine coursework will
make learning relevant for students and offer new
means for motivating students to learn. It is helpful for
career information to be visible in school newsletters,
newspapers, websites, and hallways.
Secondary School
At the secondary level, the school counselor can assess
the needs of the students and discuss various resources
available for career planning (Harrell, 2004). To help
students become familiar with their interests and jobs
they might enjoy, the counselor can administer career
interest surveys, have local professionals speak to
students about their work (Great American Teach-In),
educate them about resume-writing and job-searching,
and arrange field trips to vocational schools and/
or colleges (Harrell, 2004). Giving students websites
to research different jobs will motivate them to do
independent research. Part of this motivation may be
evidenced as students see the relevance of academic
learning tied to a future career. Parents/guardians can
become engaged through information found in school
newsletters, emails, and during conference nights
(Harrell, 2014). Listening to students is imperative
if their career journey is to be a coordinated effort
between counselors, administrators, teachers, and
parents/guardians (Harrell, 2004).
College Career Counseling
In the college setting, career counselors can guide
students toward their ideal career (“University Career
Counselors Help,” 2020). The main goal is to help
students discover a meaningful career path where
they feel their purpose is being fulfilled. Aptitude
and achievement assessments highlight personality

ISSN: 2710-4028 DOI: https://doi.org/10.54208/0003 83
traits, interests, skills, and abilities. The student
and counselor examine the student’s gifts, passions,
values, strengths, and preferred environment and set
future goals (“University Career Counselors Help,”
2020). The counselor can be instrumental in assisting
students to build a resume and prepare for interviews
by simulating mock interviews. Career counselors can
find internships to advance the students’ skill sets and
connect students to mentors in their career field, which
can be invaluable for the future (“University Career
Counselors Help,” 2020).
Community Counseling Agencies and Private Practice
Facets of career counseling and personal counseling
are often linked such that behavioral issues addressed
in counseling improve both areas of a person’s life
(Hicks et al., 2020). As such, clinical mental health
counselors can help clients overcome career-related
issues, such as entitlement, lack of motivation, low
self-efficacy, authority issues, and truancy, as part of
personal counseling sessions. Youth who overcome
these behavioral issues have better career outcomes,
understand the importance of work, are better able to
maintain future employment, and can set future goals
that motivate them to avoid the promises of instant
gratification offered by traffickers (Humphreys, 2017).
Thus, partnerships between personal and career
counselors are especially conducive to preventing
youths’ susceptibility to sex trafficking.
Sample Prevention Program
By utilizing career counseling strategies and behaviors
throughout a youth’s development, counselors can aid in
the prevention of sex trafficking. The following program
incorporates Humphreys’s (2017) recommended
practices, uses partnerships across settings, and targets
specific risk factors. Seven categories of susceptibility
were identified in Humphreys’s research, including
parenting, personal achievement, risk-taking behavior,
technology, sexuality/gender identity, and poverty.
Of these seven categories, this program addresses
personal achievement and poverty. Because most
youths are targeted between 11 and 14 years (Ark of
Hope, 2019), this program details prevention efforts
aimed at inoculating youth in grades four and five
before grooming occurs. Following are program
goals, objectives, and specific details to aid counselors
with implementation. These were derived from the
interviews conducted with school counselors about
their knowledge of sex trafficking and the generational
changes observed.
The following goals, objectives, and assumptions must
be considered before program implementation.
Program goal: The major program goal is to assist
youth with career development, thus reducing their
susceptibility to being sex trafficked.
Program objectives include the following:
1) Teach students connections between careers
and money.
2) Help students improve self-esteem, reduce
feelings of entitlement, improve motivation, reduce
truancy, and reduce issues with authority.
3) Motivate students to set career goals.
Program assumptions: This program assumes that
youth are not currently being sex trafficked and have
access to a school counselor.
The program begins with a parent/guardian training
session. During this session, parents/guardians are
taught about sex trafficking, grooming, internet safety,
and the importance of career development when
preventing trafficking.
Parents/guardians are encouraged to discuss these
issues with their children at home and to monitor
internet use so they can intervene with potential
internet grooming or communication with potential
traffickers. Parents/guardians, family members, and
friends are asked to discuss their career paths with
children at home over the next week.
The next eight weeks offer an opportunity to integrate
career-based activities with specific sex trafficking
awareness activities. The school counselor visits each
classroom and implements career-based learning
as part of an integrated curriculum with classroom
teachers. For example, the school counselor presents
lessons detailing types of jobs during week two, invites
guest speakers to discuss specific jobs on week three,
and hosts a career night where parents/guardians
and students visit with university and training
center representatives in the school gymnasium or