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Social work, problem definition and policy change in the US: the case of sex-trafficked youth

Critical theoretical frameworks are essential in helping social workers develop a comprehensive understanding of the manner in which political and social systems oppress marginalised populations. The central concern of critical theories is power and connecting the personal and the political, which can be accomplished by encouraging social workers and clients to use their life experiences to advocate for and change ineffective and outdated policies. This chapter presents two critical theoretical frameworks, structural social work and critical consciousness theory, to analyse the social problem of domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST) and illustrate policy changes that were created to challenge this form of structural violence. Through a case example this chapter will demonstrate how social workers redefined a social problem and by doing so, facilitated the public participation in shaping social policies and institutions in the state of Connecticut to provide better outcomes for the victims of DMST.