In movies and on TV, depictions of sex trafficking typically follow a misleading formula: A young, white woman travels abroad and is promptly kidnapped by brown or Black men who don’t speak English. Online, sex trafficking is a hashtag often used to conjure fear in anxious and privileged groups. Many conversations also incorrectly conflate sex trafficking with human trafficking, which clouds the ability to identify either one. Myths about sex trafficking are everywhere. To take action, it’s important for allies, activists, and even survivors to understand the specifics. So here’s Sex Trafficking 101: 

Sex Trafficking Defined

What’s sex trafficking? Simply put, sex trafficking is when someone is made to perform commercial sex. On a broad scale, it’s a criminal economic system that relies on exploitation to meet the demand for paid sex. While victims enter this system on various paths, sex trafficking is always characterized by force, fraud, or coercion or victimizes a minor, regardless of other factors. Buyers and traffickers regularly target people who are vulnerable—searching for a better life, struggling with poverty, or living in an unsafe situation.

For example, the 2021 story of Chrystul Kizer demonstrates how predation and grooming—among other factors like poverty—enable buyers to exploit marginalized people. As The Lily notes, Kizer, then 16, spent months in a homeless shelter before finding an apartment. She began to advertise on Backpage, where she met her perpetrator, a man who “bought her dinners and gifts, gave her cash and, most importantly to Kizer, acted as a friend when she needed one.” He then forced Kizer into specific sex acts and filmed them.

You might hear it referred to as “modern slavery,” but avoid this misleading description. It conjures the image of victims bound in chains or locked up in cages. That is seldom the situation, and it distorts people’s expectations. That imagery is typically used salaciously to manipulate fear in white communities. 

The Difference Between Human Trafficking and Sex Trafficking 

Because there is so much overlap, it’s easy to confuse human trafficking and sex trafficking. Human trafficking is an umbrella term that covers sex trafficking as well as other forms of violation like forced agricultural labor and domestic servitude. Sex trafficking is human trafficking that specifically exploits people sexually for profit. 

Who is Most at Risk? 

Like most sexual violence, sex trafficking primarily impacts women and girls of color, LGBTQ+ youth, and immigrants. Additionally, three factors can increase its likelihood: poverty, abuse, and foster care. The failures of institutional systems (like welfare and policing) directly reinforce sex trafficking in these vulnerable communities. And even though the majority of victims lack better options for survival, they bear the brunt of the legal consequences. To that end, it’s critical to frame the issue as a matter of social justice and human rights; it’s entwined with gender, racial, and financial inequity, criminal justice reform, LGBTQ+, and immigrant rights. 

How Can I Prevent Sex Trafficking? 

There isn’t one perfect solution to sex trafficking—which means you can get involved in ways that use your experiences and know-how! Empowering yourself to take small steps is far more effective than looking at the overwhelming big picture. 

For example, you can encourage your local politicians to embrace the Equality Model. It’s a set of legislative concepts that supports survivors of trafficking as they exit the sex trade and works to end demand for commercial sex. 

Giving to organizations that work to prevent sexual harm is another way to get involved. You can also use your social media to share accurate information on sex trafficking and resources to help educate others. 

Another great step is learning how to spot the signs of exploitation. Check out ways to recognize sex trafficking from the Polaris Project and this comprehensive list of indicators that a child is a victim from The Boys and Girls Club of America. 

A basic understanding of sex trafficking is critical in the fight against sexual exploitation. Because this kind of harm tends to impact the most vulnerable, keep learning and join survivors in taking action to end it!

To learn more about CAASE’s work with survivors of sex trafficking, visit our website. 

KT Hawbaker authored this piece with assistance from Hayley Forrestal. Learn more about our staff here.