Risk Factors

Traffickers specifically target impoverished and marginalized communities to offer vulnerable individuals false opportunities to improve their circumstances. Such people are more likely to take greater risks in order to provide for themselves and their families.[1]

Runaway and homeless youth are at a higher risk for becoming victims of sexual exploitation and sex trafficking. In a Polaris Project’s survivor survey, 64% of survivors in the US reported being homeless or experiencing unstable housing at the time they were recruited into their trafficking situation. Especially during winter in Minnesota, traffickers are often able to take advantage of a potential victims’ fear of sleeping on the street by offering them safe shelter in exchange for “a favor” or “services” of a sexual nature, which often escalates into further exploitation and trafficking.[2]

Racism contributes to the marginalization of people, particularly indigenous populations. People who experience racism face systemic barriers such as limited access to education, employment, housing, and credit. These forms of discrimination place people of color at a higher risk of being trafficked.[3] In Minnesota, an evaluation of state services for victims of sexual exploitation identified that over half (59%) of victim participants in the study were people of color.[4]

Studies reveal that LGBTQ+ youth can be up to five times more likely than heterosexual youth to be victims of trafficking due to increased susceptibility that comes with the feeling of rejection and alienation that are often experienced by those in the LGBTQ+ community.5 Additionally, LGBTQ+ members are also more likely to run away or be forced into a homeless situation, making them even more vulnerable to engaging in survival sex to access shelter, which often leads to further exploitation and trafficking.6

There is a strong correlation between sexual exploitation and a history of abuse and unstable home environment. Research estimates that between 33-90% of victims of commercial sexual exploitation have experienced childhood abuse.[7]

“I connected with a woman who was in the commercial sex industry in Roseville, MN, and I asked her about her story. She told me how she was continually raped by her family members when she was a little girl. She said that she needed the money and ‘if my body is not worth anything, might as well make some money off it.’”[8]

Traffickers often use substance dependencies and addictions to keep control of the trafficked person. Some traffickers purposely supply drugs to vulnerable people to break down their resistance and coerce them into exploitive situations and trafficking. As a trafficked person becomes dependent on a particular substance, the trafficker uses that vulnerability to keep a victim in the cycle of abuse.[9]

Traffickers look for potential victims who exhibit lower self-esteem. “Romeo” or “Lover-Boy” pimps will enter a potential victim’s life, offering to meet an emotional need by wooing the potential victim with gifts, affection, promises to fulfill dreams, offer protection and adventure – whatever the potential victim perceives she or he is lacking. In this age of technology, many traffickers use social media sites to recruit potential victims.[10]

1. Province of British Columbia. (2014). “What Makes Someone Vulnerable to Human Trafficking”. Human Trafficking Training: Module 1. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/justice/criminal-justice/victims-of-crime/human-trafficking/human-trafficking-training/module-1/vulnerabilities

2. Polaris Project. (2020). “Homelessness in Recruitment”. Human Trafficking and Housing and Homelessness. https://polarisproject.org/human-trafficking-and-housing-homelessness/

3. Province of British Columbia. (2014). “What Makes Someone Vulnerable to Human Trafficking”. Human Trafficking Training: Module 1. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/justice/criminal-justice/victims-of-crime/human-trafficking/human-trafficking-training/module-1/vulnerabilities

4. Atella, J., Turner, L. (2019). “An Evaluation of Safe Harbor Initiative in Minnesota – Phase 3: Evaluation Report”. Minnesota Department of Health.https://www.wilder.org/sites/default/files/imports/SafeHarbor_EvaluationReport_9-19.pdf

5. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Administration for Children, Youth, and Families. (2014). Guidance to states and services on addressing human trafficking of children and youth in the United States. Washington, DC. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/cb/acyf_human_trafficking_guidance.pdf

6. Polaris Project. (2020). “Homelessness in Recruitment”. Human Trafficking and Housing and Homelessness. https://polarisproject.org/human-trafficking-and-housing-homelessness/

7. Williamson, C. & Prior, M. (2009). “Domestic minor sex trafficking: A network of underground players in the Midwest”. Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma, 2(1): 46-61.

8. Local Anti-Trafficking Outreach Worker

9. Province of British Columbia. (2014). “What Makes Someone Vulnerable to Human Trafficking”. Human Trafficking Training: Module 1. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/justice/criminal-justice/victims-of-crime/human-trafficking/human-trafficking-training/module-1/vulnerabilities

10. Shared Hope International. (2020). “Frequently Asked Questions – How do traffickers or pimps recruit victims?”. https://sharedhope.org/the-problem/faqs/