Combatting human trafficking of minors involves knowing how this population is uniquely vulnerable. Unlike adult victims, minors have less freedom—the ability to leave home, travel, or make adult decisions—including whether or not someone they meet is safe to spend time with. Traffickers exploit this naiveté through strategic impression management and interpersonal charm, promising freedom but forcing submission through both physical and emotional bondage.

Initially, however, among the powerful strategies of seduction traffickers use to lure and ensnare victims, is the selective attention they use to beguile young people as well as their families. Unaware of their malevolent intentions, parents may view them as positive “role models” in the lives of their children—who are uniquely susceptible to adult influence. And when it comes to romantic relationships, teenagers have less life experience to determine appropriate relational boundaries. This is especially true if they are being raised in abusive homes or within exploitive relationships—circumstances that investigators and advocates can recognize if they know what to look for.

Source: Image by StarFlames from Pixabay

Proactive Prevention Requires Perception

Mary K. Twis and colleagues (2022) tackled the research into the sexual exploitation of minors in a piece entitled “An Analysis of Romantic Partnership Dynamics in Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking.”[i]

They define domestic minor sex trafficking as “the commercial sexual exploitation of a minor citizen or legal resident within the United States.” They recognize that far from being a uniform practice, traffickers use different methods to exploit victim vulnerabilities, especially within a population of at-risk individuals.

Studying relationship dynamics and patterns that emerge between child victims and their traffickers—who were also romantic partners—Twis and colleagues found that victims were influenced by environmental circumstances, such as the involvement of family systems and gangs. Accordingly, they suggest that anti-trafficking advocates should monitor the relationships of at-risk adolescents for possible involvement with gangs, or family involvement in the sex industry.

Twis and colleagues also found that romantic partner traffickers use specific tactics of recruitment and engage in a range of behaviors toward victims including caregiving as well as sexual and psychological violence to maintain control. Consequently, they remind advocates of the importance of educating the young at-risk population about domestic minor sex trafficking as a possible part of teen dating violence.

Another consideration involves recognizing that at-risk children or teenagers, due to their young age, may be unlikely to report their victimization. Research has examined this as well.

Proactive Prevention Requires Intervention

Jennifer E. O’Brien and colleagues (2024) investigated help-seeking behavior among children between the ages of 12 and 18 who have been victims of commercial sexual exploitation, are at high risk of victimization, or have experienced co-occurring harms such as homelessness and maltreatment.[ii] Among other results, they found that cisgender white females were most likely to seek help, followed by sexual and gender minority children, with cisgender male children least likely to engage in help-seeking behaviors. Children generally were more likely to engage in informal rather than formal help-seeking, and younger children were more likely to reach out to older children and parents, with older children more likely to seek assistance from friends.

Understanding the unique circumstances involved and the techniques traffickers use to recruit young victims is key to spotting harmful relationships sooner rather than later. The goal is to ensure that children grow up with loving supervision, wholesome role models, and sufficient exposure to caring, healthy relationships to equip them to make good decisions as they become adults.