TPC Journal-Vol 9- Issue 4-FULL ISSUE

396 This study examined whether attitudes based on labels and counselor demographics predicted empathy and rape myth acceptance in counselors. A difference in attitudes based on the labels of either “prostitute” or “sex trafficking” was found. Attitudes based on labels and counselor demographics additionally predicted scores of empathy and rape myth acceptance. The importance of obtaining training on human sex trafficking was identified. The implications of these findings are discussed within the areas of counseling, counselor education, and counselor supervision, including challenging stigmatizing beliefs about individuals who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation, incorporating discussions about human sex trafficking into counselor education courses, and learning about resources and trauma-informed techniques that empower trafficked clients and support counseling supervisees. Keywords : sex trafficking, human trafficking, prostitutes, rape myth, labels Exploitation of humans through the use of force, fraud, and coercion is not a new phenomenon. Despite increased awareness to the social injustice of human trafficking and modern-day slavery, trading in human beings represents a current business enterprise well established prior to the colonization of North America (Johnson, 1997). Although the prevalence of human trafficking remains unknown (Andretta, Woodland, Watkins, & Barnes, 2016; Fedina, 2015), it occurs within the United States and across the globe, affecting all regions of the world (Davy, 2016; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2014). With an estimated 32 billion dollars accrued annually through the sexual exploitation of women, children, and men (Thompson & Haley, 2018), the United Nations identified human trafficking as the third largest criminal enterprise globally, just behind those involving drugs and weapons (Thompson & Haley, 2018). Human trafficking encompasses both labor trafficking and sex trafficking. The Trafficking Victim Protection Act was passed by the U.S. Congress in 2000 to address the needs of trafficked survivors. This act, which applies to instances of sex and labor trafficking, defines human trafficking as the recruiting, harboring, transporting, supplying, or obtaining of a person for labor or services through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of involuntary servitude or slavery (U.S. Department of State, 2016). Sex trafficking is a specific type of human trafficking characterized by scenarios in which commercial sex acts are induced by force, fraud, or coercion, and/or in which the person induced to perform sex acts is under 18 years of age (U.S. Department of State, 2016). The International Labour Organization (2012) reported 4.5 million people were victims of sex trafficking worldwide. In 2008, the National Human Trafficking Resource Center established a hotline service that provides information related to labor and sex trafficking cases reported in the United States (Gerassi, 2015). Since 2008, reports of trafficking through the hotline have increased at the rate of 259% per year, resulting in a total of 20,400 cases involving elements of trafficking and exploitation (Gerassi, 2015). Given these estimates, it is likely that counselors will work with sex trafficking survivors at some point during their career. The Professional Counselor Volume 9, Issue 4, Pages 396–415 http://tpcjournal.nbcc.org © 2019 NBCC, Inc. and Affiliates doi:10.15241/sdal.9.4.396 Stacey Diane Aranez Litam She’s Just a Prostitute: The Effects of Labels on Counselor Attitudes, Empathy, and Rape Myth Acceptance Stacey Diane Aranez Litam is an assistant professor at Cleveland State University. Correspondence can be addressed to Stacey Litam, 2121 Euclid Avenue, Julka Hall 272, Cleveland, Ohio 44115, s.litam@csuohio.edu.