The See It to Stop It Indicator Tool to Identify Child Sex Trafficking: Acceptability, Feasibility, Utility, and Outcomes

Adolescents involved in sex trafficking may not engage in help-seeking behavior due to fear, stigma, and lack of awareness about available resources. Likewise, professionals interacting with these youth may have little guidance on how to identify risk or respond when trafficking concerns are detected. This study describes the development, feasibility, acceptability, utility, and outcomes of the See It to Stop It Indicator (SITSII) tool for middle school staff (MSS), developed as part of a Cluster Randomized Control Trial of a bystander intervention, to prevent child sex trafficking (CST) in students. The SITSII contains 17 items categorized into three tiers of concern (Probable Concern Tier 3; Potential Concern Tier 2; Emerging Concern Tier 1) that map onto bystander actions based on a risk stratification model. Mixed-method data from 63 MSS were analyzed to determine screening outcomes, intentions to act, barriers to action, and assessments of feasibility, acceptability, and utility. Outcomes indicate that running away (Tier 3) and truancy (Tier 2), followed by a history of child maltreatment (Tier 2), were the most prevalent student behaviors, while 21% had no identifiable risk factors. This suggests a lack of bias toward over- or under-identification. Users rated the acceptability and utility of the tool favorably, and 91.5% endorsed confidence in taking the recommended bystander actions. The SITSII establishes a continuum of risk factors for CST that map onto actionable items. There is evidence of successful SITSII implementation as well as enhanced confidence in intent-to-act to protect identified students.