Respond to a colleague who chose a case different from yours by addressing the following: (Be detailed in response, use subheadinga and use course materials)

• Describe another way the identified problem can be defined.
• What policy advocacy skills do you think should be used to address the identified problem?
• What makes a social problem a social work problem?

Response to Porsha

Case of Tiffani Bradley

Who is defining the problem?

The state is defining the problem along with the criminal Justice system. The state has decided to drop the prostitution charges against Tiffani since she was a minor and could not consent to be sexually trafficked (Plummer et al., 2014). A new act was put into place saying that minors who have been sexually exploited should not receive criminal charges but services instead (Plummer et al., 2014).

What values are reflected in this definition of the problem?

Values that are being reflected is worth of self, seeing that these minors are not criminals but victims. Another value is protection these minors that have been victimized and keeping them off the streets and in the protection of social services and community.

What is being omitted in this definition?

What is being omitted is that there should be more help to prevent the sex trafficking of minors. Many minors are victims of sexual factors from lack of resources in the home due to poverty and community break down. The system has failed these minors and because of that many will continue to struggle in life from something that could have been prevented. Jansson (2018) found, “Problems are caused by physiological, personal, familial, community, and social factors” (p.223).

What other problems do you see that are not being acknowledged?

The other problems are the displacement of family, home, and emotional trauma exploitation has on these victims and the importance of them to be able to feel safe and maintain sobriety. Many exploited minors are feed drugs and alcohol to keep them emotionally numb and to follow the perpetrator's orders.

Reference:

Jansson, B. S. (2018). Becoming an effective policy advocate: From policy practice to social justice. (8th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning Series.

Laureate Education. (Producer). (2013). Bradley (Episode 7 of 42) [Video file]. In Sessions. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S., & Brocksen S. M. (Eds.). (2014). Sessions: Case histories. Baltimore, MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-reader].