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There are a number of hidden populations in the United States whose victimization goes undetected and unreported. This study aims to assess the victimization experiences of one such population: American children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Utilizing the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (JVQ), this study obtained past‐year and lifetime prevalence rates of interpersonal violence in a sample of children with ASDs (N = 262). Results showed that almost 89% of these children had experienced an incident of victimization in their lifetime, while almost as many (82.1%) had experienced an incident within the last year. Among those who had been victimized once within the last year, 92% experienced at least a second victimization within that same time period, pointing to significant levels of poly‐victimization. Risk ratios confirm that if a child experiences an incident of victimization in the past year, s/he is at risk to experience another type of victimization during that time frame, no matter what type of initial victimization exposure was examined. Previous research specifically addressing the victimization of children with ASDs in the United States has been limited and often focuses on a specific form of victimization, such as bullying. Implications include considering the impact of exposure to multiple forms of victimization and addressing the possibility of long‐term trauma resulting from chronic exposure to victimization.

Since 2000, the federal government and all fifty states have passed laws that criminalize the trafficking of persons for labor and commercial sex. To date, relatively few human trafficking cases have been identified, investigated, and prosecuted by local criminal justice authorities. Using data from case records and qualitative interviews with police, prosecutors, and victim service providers in twelve counties, we discuss the challenges local police face in identifying cases of human trafficking. We find that the culture of local police agencies and the perceptions of police officials about human trafficking do not support the identification of a broad range of human trafficking cases. Since local definitions of human trafficking are still evolving, police focus on sex trafficking of minors, which they perceive to be the most serious problem facing their communities. Reluctance to differentiate between vice and sex trafficking minimizes the problem of human trafficking and makes labor trafficking seem largely nonexistent.

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