Sex trafficking is recognized as a national problem that inflicts serious harm on its victims, yet, legislative responses to trafficking vary depending on jurisdiction. Federal legislation considers youths who engage in commercial sex acts as trafficking victims. States, however, vary in the evidence required to prove a juvenile is a victim of sex trafficking, as opposed to an offender of prostitution. Using four years of data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System, we compared details of commercial sex incidents involving youths who were identified as trafficking victims or arrested as prostitutes. Beyond legislative differences, comparisons between cases are discussed to illuminate how state law enforcement officials legally classify these events involving adolescents (i.e., as victims or prostitutes). Further, we consider the policy implications of the findings.

中文翻译：

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被害人还是妓女？在基于国家事件的报告系统中，涉及未成年人的商业性事件的分类。

性贩运被认为是对受害者造成严重伤害的国家问题，但是，针对性贩运的立法对策因管辖权而异。联邦立法将从事商业性行为的青年视为贩运受害者。但是，各国在证明少年人是性交易的受害者而不是卖淫罪的受害者方面需要提供不同的证据。我们使用基于国家事件报告系统的四年数据，比较了涉及被确认为贩运受害者或被逮捕为妓女的年轻人的商业性事件的详细信息。除了立法上的分歧外，还讨论了案例之间的比较，以阐明州执法人员如何对这些涉及青少年（即，作为受害者或妓女）的事件进行法律分类。进一步，