Introduction

Society comprises the social relations, social institutions and dominant ideologies that are present in and influence the social order. Social work is known for servicing populations that are the most vulnerable and oppressed within the construct of a particular social structure. The profession recognises the role people and social forces play in an individual's everyday life. One of its ethical standards is to create substantial and lasting change through social action and advocacy across all levels: micro, meso and macro. This can be challenging when access to each level is often limited based on the reach of a particular intervention. This is particularly relevant when addressing a social problem whose consequences are evident on multiple levels. One example is the social problem of domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST). In the United States, social workers in the state of Connecticut, a small state located in the north-eastern region of the United States, were influential in changing the way DMST was addressed. Working with local and state officials, social workers helped to redefine the problem and facilitate a more socially just way of addressing the plight in which the victims of this problem find themselves.

This chapter presents two theoretical frameworks, structural social work theory and critical consciousness theory, and discusses their relevance to social work practice and policy change, related to DMST. We use a critical lens to examine the social problem of youth sex trafficking in the United States and illustrate social workers’ participation in defining the social problem and creating an agenda to change particular policies and procedures in order to produce a better outcome for the victims of this crime. Structural social work theory facilitates an understanding of the larger social forces, social relations, institutional and individual ideologies that, once recognised, need to be confronted and transformed in order to address the social problem and facilitate policy change. The theory of critical consciousness is used to illustrate the process of developing an awareness of the systems of domination and subjugation that exist in society that is vital to identifying and redefining a social problem.

Most social problems have more than one origin. Such is the case with DMST, where a fundamental, though not sole source, is gender oppression.