Sexual Exploitation


An exploiter's main purpose is to exploit children for financial gain. There are two different types of sexual exploitation: the first is commercial sexual exploitation and second is called domestic minor sex trafficking. Commercial sexual exploitation of children happens when an individual buys, sells, or trades sexual acts with a child. Domestic minor sex trafficking happens, according to the world-wide anti-sex trafficking organization Shared Hope, when children can be "exploited through pornography, prostitution, and /or erotic entertainment." For more information, please visit the Shared Hope website at www.sharedhope.org.


What Causes A Child To Become A Victim
Which children are vulnerable and targeted?
  • A child who doesn't receive love and attention from his/her parents
  • A child who experiences trouble at home
  • A child who is usually lonely
  • A child who is a runaway and doesn't have a safe place to stay
  • A child who doesn't have much or a child who likes expensive items but can't afford to buy them
  • A child who may meet an exploiter online before a real-life encounter
An exploiter will attempt to create a loving and caring relationship with a vulnerable child in order to gain that child's trust and allegiance. An exploiter is willing to invest a great deal of time, effort, and money on a victim to break down a vulnerable child's natural resistance. An exploiter often targets children outside of his/her own family but, in some cases, it is usually a family member of the vulnerable child who victimizes that child or another child. Vulnerable children may be targeted not only inside their own families and homes, but also at churches, schools, shopping malls, parks, bus stations, local streets, etc. Vulnerable children who experience emotional, sexual or physical abuse and/or neglect that causes them to run away from home only too often become victimized again through pornography, sexual exploitation, and drugs.


Potential Signs/Indications of Sexual Exploitation
  • History of running away or current status as a runaway
  • Presence of an older boy/girlfriend
  • Sudden appearance of expensive/costly items
  • Onset of alcohol and/or drug addiction
  • Behavior problems at home or school
  • Behavioral changes such as excessive crying, mood swings, fearfulness
  • Fear of certain people, places, or activities
  • Showing an unusual interest in sexual matters
  • Acting out inappropriate sexual activity
  • A sudden acting out of feelings or aggressive behavior
  • Withdrawal or lack of interest in daily or previous activities
  • Sudden involvement with suspicious or unknown people
  • Nightmares or fear of going to bed
  • Bed wetting or other sleep disturbances
  • Poorly explained/unexplained injuries such as limps, cuts, bruises, rashes, etc.


What Happens To A Victim?
  • A victim views the exploiter as a caretaker or boyfriend
  • Victimized child may remain loyal even as exploitation and manipulation deepens/grows
  • Victim may be made to feel trapped/powerless by physical and psychological threats
  • Victim may be forced into drug addiction
  • Exploiters use victims as slaves to quickly make money
  • Victims may be gang-raped to desensitize them to sexual activity prior to forcibly entering into prostitution, pornography, etc.
  • Victims may suffer from anxiety, depression, hyper-alertness, insomnia, and other ailments as result of their exploitation
Victimized children who attempt to flee exploitation (and/or contact police or other agencies for help) especially when involved in prostitution/sex work, often face severe threats to themselves and/or their families. Exploiters may threaten to blackmail, shame/stigmatize, and physically hurt victims and their loved ones. Victims who do escape such exploitation often struggle with the trauma of their experiences and the dysfunctional bond(s) they may still share with their exploiters.  Long term therapies and treatments are required to help these children heal.


To Prevent Child Victimization...
  • Show your child care and love
  • Talk to your child about sexual abuse
  • Listen and pay attention to your child
  • Pay attention to changes in your child's behavior
  • Pay attention to your child's fears
  • Know where your child is at all times and where to look for her/him
  • Teach your child which body parts are private and only for your child to touch
  • Teach children that no one should approach them or touch them in a way that makes them uncomfortable
  • Be involved in your child's activities
  • Discuss and practice basic safety and self-defense skills
  • Be cautious of sitters and others who care for your child--including relatives
  • Be cautious of a teenager or adult who pays unusual attention to your child
  • Be extra cautious when someone gives expensive or inappropriate gifts to your child
  • Pay attention when your child expresses anxiety or shyness about a certain person or place
  • Check suspicious people out on sex offender websites