What is Human Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation?
Every year, thousands of individuals in the United States engage in commercial sexual activity—not by choice, but because survival demands it. For some, this story includes an exploiter pulling the strings, while for others, it’s their own fight against systemic failures that leads them into exploitation.
Human Trafficking Awareness Month is an opportunity to educate, dispel myths, and invite conversations about the realities of trafficking and exploitation.
What Is Commercial Sexual Exploitation?
Commercial sexual exploitation refers to any sexual activity that is traded or exchanged for something of value, or even the promise of something of value. This doesn’t just include money; it can be a place to stay, food, clothes, transportation, medications, or anything else essential for survival.
It’s a broad term that encompasses activities such as pornography, stripping, exotic dancing, human trafficking, escorting, erotic massage, and street-level exploitation like prostitution. Many of these actions are misunderstood or dismissed as choices made freely - but for countless individuals, they represent a lack of options rather than a genuine preference.
Trafficking: Hollywood vs Reality
Trafficking occurs when a third party facilitates or controls someone’s commercial sexual activity for financial gain. Unlike Hollywood’s dramatic depictions of kidnapping and being transported over international borders like those seen in Taken or The Sound of Freedom, trafficking often involves psychological coercion, manipulation, or threats by someone the victim knows and trusts, without ever needing to leave their own communities.
Traffickers exploit vulnerabilities regarding housing or food insecurity, substance abuse disorders and addiction, or the promise of love and stability. These subtle forms of exploitation are far more common than the sensationalized portrayals.
Dispelling Common Myths
One of the biggest barriers to addressing human trafficking and exploitation is the prevalence of myths and misconceptions. Let’s break down some of the most common ones:
- Myth: Trafficking only happens when someone is kidnapped and held against their will.
- Reality: Most trafficking involves psychological manipulation, making it invisible to outsiders.
- Myth: People who engage in commercial sex are doing so by choice.
- Reality: Many “choose” it because they lack access to safer alternatives.
- Myth: Self-trafficking isn’t exploitation.
- Reality: When systemic failures force someone to exchange sex for survival, it’s still a form of exploitation.
Systemic Failures: The Root Causes
Exploitation thrives wherever vulnerabilities exist, affecting every corner of the country, including all 95 counties in Tennessee.
Commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking are often the result of deep systemic failures that create vulnerabilities. Becca Stevens, Founder & President of Thistle Farms, has asked a very simple but poignant and powerful question over the years that puts this into perspective: “If prostitution was the choice, what were the options?”
Research has shown that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) significantly increase the likelihood of someone being vulnerable to exploitation. These include:
- Physical and Psychological Trauma: Chronic exposure to violence or neglect during childhood can undermine a person’s ability to establish healthy boundaries and trust.
- Child Sexual Abuse: Survivors of childhood sexual abuse are at a heightened risk of exploitation due to the long-lasting psychological impact of such trauma.
- Family Instability: Growing up in unstable or abusive households creates vulnerabilities that traffickers often exploit.
But the truth is, having a higher ACE score alone isn’t the sole determiner of someone’s likelihood to be exploited. Systemic challenges of social vulnerabilities can and often do, compound to create the perfect storm for someone to find themselves seeing commercial sexual exploitation as their only option for survival.
- Poverty and Housing Insecurity: Without stable housing or income, people are often forced into exploitative situations just to survive.
- Gaps in Social Services: Limited access to mental health care, addiction recovery resources, and support for survivors of abuse leave many without a safety net.
- Discrimination and Marginalization: LGBTQ+ individuals, people of color, and others facing systemic inequities are disproportionately affected.
- Barriers to Employment: Criminal records and lack of job opportunities force individuals into survival-based exploitation.
How You Can Help
Awareness is the first step, but action is what creates change. Here are a few ways to get involved:
- Educate Yourself and Others: Be curious and learn more about the issue. Programs like Tennessee Businesses Against Trafficking in Tennessee educate employers on recognizing and addressing trafficking.
- Support Organizations Doing the Work: Donate, volunteer, or advocate for groups that support survivors and address systemic issues.
- Push for Policy Change: Advocate for policies that tackle root causes like poverty, housing insecurity, and employment barriers.
- Listen Without Judgment: Be a voice of empathy and understanding in conversations about these issues.
Together, we can create a world where no one is forced to trade their dignity for survival.
