Sex Trafficking Myth Reduction: Evaluating an Educational Approach to Reducing Victim Blaming and Increasing Victim Empathy

This study examined the effectiveness of a brief educational intervention designed to reduce sex trafficking (ST) myth acceptance. Using a 2 × 2 mixed design, participants (N = 189) viewed either an educational video addressing common ST myths or a control video on human memory. Measures of ST myth acceptance and victim empathy were collected before, immediately after, and 1 month following the intervention. Participants also evaluated a vignette describing an alleged ST case and responded to items assessing empathy, victim blaming, and perceptions of the defendant's guilt. The intervention did not significantly reduce ST myth acceptance or influence vignette-based judgements, which may reflect a ceiling effect given participants' already supportive baseline attitudes. However, a protective effect emerged over time: participants in the intervention condition maintained supportive victim attitudes at follow-up, whereas control participants demonstrated increased victim blaming and decreased empathy.