By Andrea Nichols, Ph.D., Professor, St. Louis Community College Forest Park; Lecturer, Washington University in St. Louis; Gateway Alliance Against Human Trafficking Member.
Research consistently finds an association between child sexual abuse (CSA) and sex trafficking. Multiple research studies show that approximately a third of sex trafficked children experienced prior CSA, which is higher than the rate experienced in the general population. Other studies show an even higher percentage, although about a third is most commonly reported. Comparative analyses also show backgrounds of CSA occurring at higher rates among those experiencing sex trafficking. For example, a study by Reid examined more than 900 juvenile justice system-involved minors and found that the minors experiencing sex trafficking showed heightened rates of CSA compared to those who did not.
Sex trafficking survivor memoirs illustrate that CSA survivors learn that their value is intertwined with their sexuality and expect others to have the same view of them. For example, Holly Austin Smith described trading sex for a car ride as a teenager as she felt the driver, another teenager, expected it. Smith indicated that the CSA she experienced and the view that her worth was wrapped up in her sexuality similarly influenced her child sex trafficking victimization. Savannah Sanders illustrated that for her, CSA led to hypersexuality and influenced her vulnerability to sex trafficking, “I started becoming increasingly sexualized far beyond what is considered normal for any corresponding age. I made sexually oriented jokes regularly and attempted to act older than I was in my mannerisms and behaviors” (p. 85). Rachael Lloyd stated, “children who are victimized through sexual abuse often begin to develop deeply held tenets that shape their sense of self: ‘My worth is my sexuality. I’m dirty and shameful. I have no right to my physical boundaries.’ That shapes their ideas of the world around them (p.36).” Survivor memoirs as well as qualitative research indicate that there are profound impacts of CSA that create vulnerability to sex trafficking.
An abundance of research shows that a background of CSA is a pathway into commercial sex. This pathway varies among survivors. For some, CSA and familial sex trafficking occur simultaneously, or CSA is a precursor to familial sex trafficking. For others, CSA leads to runaway behaviors and vulnerability to a trafficker posing as a romantic partner, who promises affection, food, shelter, and gifts. Another pathway includes survivors who runaway from home, and who are then solicited by adult buyers who offer them money, food, or shelter in exchange for sex. Some survivors of CSA, as adults or children, may initially enter into commercial sex as a reclamation of their sexuality, viewing themselves as in control of their sexuality rather than their abusers, who are often close family members or family friends. Survivors in such circumstances who become involved with a trafficker rapidly find themselves in a new situation of control and abuse. Sharon Oslin noted, “Girls who entered into prostitution at the prodding of a male figure quickly relinquished much of their autonomy and earnings to him within a short time, in effect negating all sense of control over their own sexuality”, (p. 28).
The association between CSA and sex trafficking commonly involves running away from abusive homes, becoming homeless, and having few job opportunities. As children do not want to be found and returned to abusive households, and getting a job under the age of 16 typically requires a parent and/or school signature, survival sex (trading sex to meet basic needs) is often viewed as the best available option. When children have nothing else, they have their bodies, and at this point have learned that their sexuality equates their value. Once homeless, children are susceptible to buyers, as well as traffickers, who are actively seeking vulnerable people to exploit.
Survivors of CSA often endure complex and long-term trauma, which is associated with complex PTSD, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and distorted understandings of healthy relationships, consent, and sexual boundaries. Mental health impacts of CSA lead to vulnerability to sex trafficking, as some survivors of CSA will become more susceptible to manipulation by traffickers who exploit these vulnerabilities. Those with a background of CSA also experience challenges to understanding, forming and maintaining healthy relationships, resulting in lack of community and social support networks, which also enhances vulnerability.
As CSA is associated with running away, homelessness, and subsequent commercial sex involvement through a buyer or a trafficker, knowledge of these risks provides implications for prevention. Service providers working in children and family services, youth serving organizations, and street outreach are in prime positions to identify and provide resources to child survivors of sex trafficking or those at risk of it. Juvenile justice system professionals, such as deputy juvenile officers and truancy officers, are also in a position where they are likely to interact with children experiencing sex trafficking—when children run away from home, they are more likely to be picked up for status offenses, including running away, truancy, and sex trafficking. There are some validated screening tools that are service population specific, including the STAR (for use in the juvenile justice system) and the QYIT (for use with youth experiencing homelessness).
Early identification can also be enhanced by educating parents, teachers, school social workers, healthcare workers, children and family services workers, and the general public on signs of child sexual abuse. Identification is key to stopping further abuse and preventing the runaway risk that may result in sex trafficking. Screening and early identification with subsequent referral to appropriate resources is necessary to address child abuse, and reduce risk of trafficking, as well as to address sex trafficking than may already be occurring. In addition to identification and screening practices, prevention efforts in schools educating children about healthy relationships, consent, and sexual boundaries may also help to prevent sex trafficking and may result in disclosure and assistance for the child.
Sources and Resources:
- Andretta, J., M. Woodland, K. Watkins, and M. Barnes. 2016. “Towards the Discreet Identification of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) Victims and Individualized Interventions: Science to Practice.” Psychology, Public Policy, and Law 22, no. 1: 260–70.
- Chisolm-Straker, M., Sze, J., Einbond, J., White, J., & Stoklosa, H. 2019. “Screening for Trafficking among Homeless Young Adults.” Children and Youth Services Review , March: 72–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.12.014.
- Cole, J., G. Sprang, R. Lee, and J. Cohen. 2016. “The Trauma of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Youth: A Comparison of CSE Victims to Sexual Abuse Victims in a Clinical Sample.” Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 3, no.1: 122–46. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260514555133.
- de Vries, I., and K. E. Goggin. 2020. “The Impact of Childhood Abuse on the Commercial Sexual Exploitation ofYouth: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.” Trauma, Violence, & Abuse 21, no. 5: 886–903.
- Fedina, L., C. Williamson, and T. Perdue. 2019. “Risk Factors for Domestic Child Sex Trafficking in the United States.” Journal of Interpersonal Violence 34, no. 13: 2653–73. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260516662306.
- Lloyd, R. 2012. Girls Like Us: Fighting for a World Where Girls Are Not for Sale. New York: Harper Perennial.
- Oselin, S. 2014. Leaving Prostitution: Getting Out and Staying Out of Sex Work. New York: New York University Press.
- Reid, J. A., M. T. Baglivio, A. R. Piquero, M. A.Greenwald, and N. Epps. 2017. “Human Trafficking of Minors and Childhood Adversity in Florida.” American Journal of Public Health 107, no. 2: 306–11. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2016.303564.
- Sanders, S. 2015. Sex Trafficking Prevention: A Trauma-Informed Approach for Parents and Professionals. Scottsdale, AZ: Unhooked.
- Smith, H. A. 2014. Walking Prey: How America’s Youth Are Vulnerable to Sex Slavery. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.