Abstract Research about the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) in the United States has grown enormously over the past two decades both in rigor and in scope. Despite this, much of the framing, intervention development, and outcome evaluation around CSEC has focused on White, heterosexual, cisgender, female-identified survivors. This mixed-methods study used bioecological systems theory to explore the nested and interrelated nature of service barriers experienced by racial, sexual, and/or gender minority (RSGM) youth who have experienced CSEC. Data were collected from 80 social service providers and law enforcement officials working with CSEC survivors. Results indicate RSGM youth, especially those with intersecting minoritized identities, experience notable challenges to receiving appropriate and culturally responsive CSEC services. Study findings underscore the need for integrated policy, practice, and research efforts focused on addressing service delivery obstacles across the macrosystem, ecosystem, mesosystem, microsystem, and chronosystem. Advancing equity for RSGM youth requires coordinated action at every ecological level to ensure that systems not only reduce vulnerability to exploitation but also foster safety, affirmation, and healing.
Abstract This article examines enduring challenges of politics, power asymmetries, and national identity in social work supervision amid protracted Israeli–Palestinian conflict, offering insights relevant to intensified contemporary polarization. It draws on a study exploring Israeli-Palestinian social workers’ experiences, professional motivations, challenges, and relationships with Israeli-Jewish clients and supervisors. In this article, authors focus on their experiences of supervision under Israeli-Jewish supervisors. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with 32 Israeli-Palestinian social workers. Although conducted in 2013–2014, the study illuminates enduring identity-based and structural dynamics that continue to shape supervision in contexts of protracted political conflict. Analysis revealed three supervision styles, as perceived by Israeli-Palestinian supervisees: (1) supervision oblivious to political context—supervisors remaining apolitical or disregarding political realities; (2) supervision exhibiting ambivalence toward political context—supervisors failing to demonstrate understanding of the supervisee’s perspective; and (3) supervision conscious of the political context, that is, supervisors acknowledging political realities, fostering open dialogue, and equipping supervisees with tools to address political issues reflectively. The findings demonstrate that broader Jewish–Palestinian relations in Israel permeate supervision, reproducing and intensifying minority–majority power dynamics within this professional setting. Implications are offered for supervision practice, training, and organizational policy in politically charged settings and conflict-affected professional environments.
