Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children

Commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) is a range of actions involving the sexual abuse or exploitation of an individual for the financial benefit of any person or in exchange for anything of value. This term is often used synonymously with the term “sex trafficking”. All commercial sexual acts with minors qualify as commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) under the law.

Risk of Homelessness

One of the most significant risks that transgender youth face is the risk of homelessness. A study from Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago found that LGBTQ+ youth are 120% more likely to experience homelessness than their non-LGBTQ+ peers. In 2022, 28% of LGBTQ+ youth reported experiencing homelessness or housing instability at some point in their lives. Homelessness and housing instability were reported at higher rates among transgender and nonbinary youth, including 38% of transgender girls/women, 39% of transgender boys/men, and 35% of nonbinary youth, compared to 23% of cisgender LGBQ youth[i]. This is most often tied to family rejection—either being forced out of the home or running away from home to escape rejection, shame, and abuse from caregivers. This likelihood is highest for LGBTQ+ Native American/Indigenous youth of whom 44% have experienced homelessness or housing instability. This puts transgender youth in a very vulnerable position and at high risk of CSE and CSEC. Often, an abusive partner perpetrating CSE may offer that love, familial care, housing, financial support, and safety that a trans youth craves in the absence of familial or caregiver support.[ii]

Young transgender adults (ages 18-25) also experience high rates of homelessness. A 2020 study by the Williams Institute indicates that 23% of young adults in this age group have experienced homelessness.[iii]

Overrepresentation in the Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice Systems

Transgender youth are overrepresented in the foster care system and the juvenile justice system. People who commit CSEC often intentionally prey on foster care homes and other vulnerable locations, and target youth who are returning home from the juvenile justice system.[iv]

Barriers to Employment

LGBTQ+ youth are more likely to experience employment discrimination. Many states do not guarantee legal protections for LGBTQ+ people from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity from employers. And even in locations where they do, employment discrimination can be difficult to prove, and often if LGBTQ+ people are trans or nonbinary, or even presenting with a gender expression outside of what is expected of their sex assigned at birth, employers may not hire them in the first place, often citing other, non-discriminatory reasons as to why they aren’t hiring them.

Perceptions of Trans Youth

Because LGBTQ+ youth, particularly trans and BIPOC youth, are seen as older than they are by systems of care and law enforcement, they are assumed to be voluntarily engaging in sex work and are not seen as survivors.

Destigmatize sex work by avoiding talking about sex work as inherently bad and instead focus on how the youth feels about their experiences. Sex work is, for many people, a choice in the type of labor that they want to engage in to financially succeed and meet their needs. For some people, sex work is empowering. For some people over the age of 18, sex work is what enables them to have the money they need to afford their own apartment. Many transgender individuals struggle with housing and financial security due to discrimination and structural barriers for transgender people, so they may be engaging in sex work because it is one of the few options they have available to make ends meet. For some people, sex work is a way of having control over their own business, income, and hours, and it allows them to not have to deal with employment discrimination that prevents them from having a job or deal with a lack of job experience or education, and more. As a service provider, it is essential to provide stigma-free support services, including safety planning, connection to resources, and financial planning, to clients engaging in the sex trade. Some trans survivors have not voluntarily chosen the sex trade, but are doing that work because of coercion, exploitation, or force. These are situations where someone is experiencing commercial sexual exploitation. By ensuring providers aren’t stigmatizing sex work itself, it allows survivors the ability to share without judgment about the details of their experience that are abusive, which allows providers to be authentically supportive. Trans young peoples’ lived realities can be honored and abusive behaviors addressed, rather than making sex work itself the problem.
Follow the youth’s lead on language and avoid using stigmatizing language. Many young people experiencing CSE do not view their experiences as exploitation or trafficking. Avoid labeling trans youth’s experiences for them; instead, follow the lead from youth about the terminology that they use. Always defer back to the language the youth is using about their situation (for example: using ”partner/boyfriend/girlfriend” vs. trafficker, pimp, handler, abuser, etc.) Using language that reflects what the young person is using is key for youth to feel respected and more comfortable to share and access support services.
Build rapport and trust over time. Keep in mind that building trust will look different for every young person. Make sure you focus on getting to know the young person as an individual and learn about their interests. Ask questions unrelated to the CSE to understand that youth on a deeper level and ensure that they are feeling seen, heard, and respected.
Empower with economic strategies. Service providers can explore what career options their client would want to pursue if there were no barriers. What is keeping them from the life they want? Is it lack of education? Do they need access to gender-affirming care? Do they need identification that reflects their name and gender? Would more information on how to deal with credit card debt be beneficial? Supporting both short and long-term goals related to employment and finances will help reduce continued or future victimization.
Support youth in building strong support networks. Multiple service providers involved in a youth’s support system can allow for support in different ways, in different parts of their lives, and offer them a broader community of support, love, and acceptance. Service providers should strive to coordinate support and services across multiple providers. Navigating visiting a number of providers, multiple intake processes, and numerous case plans, referrals, or other resources can be a strain on young survivors. Supportive networks may involved service providers, peers, supportive adults, family members, or others.
Allow youth to define their own success. For young people impacted by CSE, this approach recognizes the importance of supporting the young person to define and achieve what safety is to them, helping to restore the youth’s autonomy and control.
Provide a range of supportive options that may not include having law enforcement involved. Many transgender youth feel uncomfortable or unsafe interacting with law enforcement due to the history of violence and abuse against the community at the hands of law enforcement. Exploring safety planning options that might not include calling 911 or applying for a restraining order.
View gender-affirming care as part of crisis management. Gender-affirming care such as hormone therapy and name changes on legal documents can be critical to youth for their safety, autonomy, and identity. Research consistently demonstrates that gender-affirming care improves the overall health and wellbeing of transgender individuals.[v] Without other options for accessing gender-affirming care, transgender and nonbinary youth may turn to the sex trade to afford the gender-affirming care that they need, or to find ways of accessing gender-affirming care outside of the mainstream system.

Skylar is a 16-year-old Black , trans girl. She enjoys spending time with her sister, Brittany. She loves hair and makeup and is interested in attending cosmetology school one day. At age 14, Skylar shared with her parents that she is a girl. Her parents kicked her out of the house. She experienced homelessness until a teacher called child protective services to report a concern that Skylar was homeless. As a result, she entered foster care and began living at a group home. While at the group home, staff often misgendered Skylar (calling her “him” instead of “her”) and made comments about her gender identity, making her feel unsafe and unwelcome. As a result, Skylar ran away from the group home and couch-surfed with friends.

Skylar wanted gender-affirming care, so she stopped by the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s drop-in center after learning about it online and connected with Amber, one of the staff there. Before addressing gender-affirming care, Amber checked in with Skylar to make sure her basic needs were being met. Over several weeks, Skylar and Amber develop a relationship with one another. Skylar tells Amber that sometimes she calls some of her regulars to make money. Skylar tells Amber that she is “just doing what she needs to do to pay the bills.” Amber suspects that Skylar is trading sex for money, which is commercial sexual exploitation under the law because of Skylar’s age.

Because of her concern, Amber has a discussion with Skylar about how Skylar defines safety and discusses some tools she can use to keep herself safer. She gives Skylar her phone number to call in case Skylar ever feels unsafe or needs anything. Amber tells Skylar that she has a friend, Jasmine (an advocate at Saving Innocence), who might be a helpful person to speak to. Jasmine offers to meet her at the Center’s drop-in tomorrow, so that Skylar doesn’t need to worry about finding transportation to meet Jasmine.

The next day, Jasmine meets Amber and Skylar at the Center. Once Skylar appears to be more comfortable with Jasmine, Amber leaves the two of them to connect. Jasmine and Skylar start to build a relationship, and after several weeks, Skylar begins to feel like she can trust Jasmine. For the next several months, Jasmine provides ongoing case management for Skylar, building a relationship with Skylar through goal setting, connections to resources, and love and support. At no point does Jasmine ask Skylar to confirm she is being exploited. This type of disclosure is not required to access services. Jasmine and Amber check in regularly to ensure they are coordinating services and supports.

Jasmine and Amber have worked together to support Skylar to transition to adulthood. Amber has connected Skylar to gender-affirming care and supported her through her gender transition. She has also connected Skylar to LGBTQ+ youth at the Center with similar lived experiences. Jasmine has helped to reconnect Skylar with her sister, connect regularly with a survivor mentor, and has helped make sure Skylar has enough credits to graduate high school. Amber also helped to identify a cosmetology program, and funding, for Skylar to attend. Skylar is excited about what the future holds for her.

Discussion questions:

In your community, how likely would it be for Skylar to be placed in a group home for girls? What options exist in your community for housing young people and respecting their identity?
What are some ways that Jasmine and Amber provide support without the need to involve law enforcement or other authorities?
If Skylar did not live in a large urban city (Los Angeles), what kinds of supports and resources would be available to her?

In a 2016 study of 949 youth involved in the sex trade in six cities across the U.S., nearly half of all youth were LGBTQ (ages 13 to 24).6 Of these youth, 70% were Black/African American, 12% were white, 8% were multi-racial, 7% were Hispanic/Latino, and 3% identified with an additional race or ethnic category.[vi]	In total, interviews were completed with 949 young people ages 13-24 across the six sites.	Youth Involvement in the Sex Trade_3.pdf (innovatingjustice.org)
A 2018 study found that although LGBTQ youth comprised only 15% of the youth interviewed, they comprised 39% of those who reported being sex trafficked. 60% of transgender youth reported experiencing sex trafficking compared to 24% of females and 9% of males. Transgender youth were particularly vulnerable, with 90% of transgender youth reporting being offered money for sex. 70% of transgender participants engaged in commercial sex, compared to only 46% of females, 28% of males, and 50% who identified as “other.”[vii]	270 homeless youth in Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Washington D.C. All participants were over the age of 18 at the time of the interviews and their average age was 20.7 years old (SD=2.0). The majority were African American (56%); White (14%) and Multiracial (14%) were the next two largest groups.	6230-R10-Field-Center-Full-Report-Web.pdf (fieldcenteratpenn.org)
QUOTE- TW rape, abuse One transgender participant, who was a sex trafficking victim by virtue of engaging in commercial sex acts while under the age of 18, was kicked out of her family’s home after coming out when she was a teenager. She was homeless and living alone on the streets, so she turned to prostitution as a way to survive. She reported it as a horrible experience, saying “When I don’t want to do [the sexual] things they want, they pull my hair, they slap my face, they threaten me with a gun.”[viii] A transgender respondent said that she was living in foster care and felt bad asking her foster mother for things, so she began prostituting at age 15. A woman she met online on a dating app suggested the idea to her, so she began seeking her own dates online and in person. Despite being currently connected with services, she still occasionally sells sex as a way to bring in quick money. She said: “When I was younger, I was raped and molested so it was like I always thought it was okay to go out and have sex with different people because this happened, and then I just became very promiscuous and I started doing all these things and then getting all the money and stuff like that, so I thought it was okay. Am I trying to stop it? Yes.”[ix] One transgender youth began prostituting to save for surgery to complete a medical transition from male to female, sharing that: “This whole entire sex thing is based around my transitioning. My goal is to become a part of society without even having second guesses on me, just being able to participate with everyone else not even getting looked at twice.”[x]	270 homeless youth in Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Washington D.C. All participants were over the age of 18 at the time of the interviews and their average age was 20.7 years old (SD=2.0). The majority were African American (56%); White (14%) and Multiracial (14%) were the next two largest groups.	6230-R10-Field-Center-Full-Report-Web.pdf (fieldcenteratpenn.org)
A study from 2014 to 2016 found that 24% of LGBTQ youth were trafficked for sex, compared to 12% of non-LGBTQ youth.8 While LGBTQ youth comprised only of 19% of respondents, they comprised 36% of those who were sex trafficked and 36% of those involved in the sex trade.9 The study also found that half of the LGBTQ youth had engaged in the sex trade at some point during their lifetimes.8-10[xi]	641 homeless youth across ten cities in the U.S. and Canada	murphy-labor-sex-trafficking-homeless-youth.pdf (ca.gov)
One study found LGBTQ youth were 7-8 times more likely to have traded sex to meet basic needs – also known as “survival sex” – than their non-LGBTQ peers. Nationally, 48 percent of transgender people reporting involvement in sex work also report homelessness. A national survey of transgender people found that 61% of those engaged in sex work had experienced employment discrimination Past studies revealed similar findings: the vast majority (86.8 percent) of youth, particularly transgender youth (94.7 percent) interviewed by Curtis and colleagues (2008) reported that they would leave the sex trade if provided the opportunity.[xii]	homeless youth in New York City	Surviving the Streets of New York: Experiences of LGBTQ Youth, YMSM, and YWSW Engaged in Survival Sex (urban.org)
QUOTE Some transgender youth also saw trading sex as a way to secure the money needed for costly gender-affirming medical treatment, with one respondent stating, “Sex work just became the next step to helping having the resources, the disposable income to transition” (Respondent 25, 26 years old, white and Latino, heterosexual, trans female)[xiii]	homeless youth in New York City	Surviving the Streets of New York: Experiences of LGBTQ Youth, YMSM, and YWSW Engaged in Survival Sex (urban.org)
QUOTE “for trans female youth, there is a lot of pressure to do this work [in the sex trade], and it is almost a rite of passage for them to ‘really be trans.’”[xiv]		Youth Involvement in the Sex Trade_3.pdf (innovatingjustice.org)

[xv]

[i] DeChants, J.P., Green, A.E., Price, M.N, & Davis, C.K. (2021). Homelessness and Housing Instability Among LGBTQ Youth. West Hollywood, CA: The Trevor Project. https://www.thetrevorproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Trevor-Project-Homelessness-Report.pdf

[ii] Morton, M. H., Samuels, G. M., Dworsky, A., & Patel, S. (2018). Missed opportunities: LGBTQ youth homelessness in America. Chicago, IL: Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago. https://www.chapinhall.org/research/lgbtq-young-adults-experience-homelessness-at-more-than-twice-the-rate-of-peers/

[iii] Wilson, B. D. M., Choi, S. K., Harper, G. W., Lightfoot, M., Russell, S., & Meyer, I.H. (2020). Homelessness among LGBT adults in the U.S. Los Angeles, CA: Williams Institute.

[iv] Dunnigan AE, Fusco RA. The relationship between commercial sexual exploitation and foster care placement in the U.S.: A scoping review. Child Abuse Negl. 2024 Sep;155:106950. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.106950. Epub 2024 Jul 31. PMID: 39089105.

[v] Cornell University. What does the scholarly research say about the effect of gender transition on transgender well-being? https://whatweknow.inequality.cornell.edu/topics/lgbt-equality/what-does-the-scholarly-research-say-about-the-well-being-of-transgender-people/

[vi] Center for Court Innovation. Youth Involvement in the Sex Trade. (2016) https://www.innovatingjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Youth-Involvement-in-the-Sex-Trade_3.pdf

[vii] Human Trafficking Prevalence and Child Welfare Risk Factors Among Homeless Youth. The Field Center for Children’s Policy, Practice & Research. (2018) https://fieldcenteratpenn.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/6230-R10-Field-Center-Full-Report-Web.pdf

[viii] Human Trafficking Prevalence and Child Welfare Risk Factors Among Homeless Youth. The Field Center for Children’s Policy, Practice & Research. (2018) https://fieldcenteratpenn.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/6230-R10-Field-Center-Full-Report-Web.pdf

[ix] Human Trafficking Prevalence and Child Welfare Risk Factors Among Homeless Youth. The Field Center for Children’s Policy, Practice & Research. (2018) https://fieldcenteratpenn.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/6230-R10-Field-Center-Full-Report-Web.pdf

[x] Human Trafficking Prevalence and Child Welfare Risk Factors Among Homeless Youth. The Field Center for Children’s Policy, Practice & Research. (2018) https://fieldcenteratpenn.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/6230-R10-Field-Center-Full-Report-Web.pdf

[xi] Labor and Sex Trafficking Among Homeless Youth: A ten-city study full report. Loyola University, New Orleans. https://oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/agweb/pdfs/ht/murphy-labor-sex-trafficking-homeless-youth.pdf

[xii] Surviving the Streets of New York: Experiences of LGBTQ Youth, YMSM, and YWSW Engaging in Survival Sex. Urban Institute. (2015) https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/42186/2000119-Surviving-the-Streets-of-New-York.pdf

[xiii] Surviving the Streets of New York: Experiences of LGBTQ Youth, YMSM, and YWSW Engaging in Survival Sex. Urban Institute. (2015) https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/42186/2000119-Surviving-the-Streets-of-New-York.pdf

[xiv] Center for Court Innovation. Youth Involvement in the Sex Trade. (2016) https://www.innovatingjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Youth-Involvement-in-the-Sex-Trade_3.pdf

Overview

Trans Specific Dynamics

Key Tips for Service Providers

Case Examples

Statistics

Resources