Human Trafficking Awareness Month: Practical Ways to Keep Youth Safe

What Is Human Sex Trafficking?

Human sex trafficking is a form of abuse where a person is coerced, manipulated, or forced into engaging in sexual acts or the creation of sexual content for someone else’s benefit. When the victim is a child or youth under 18, any involvement in a sexual act or the production of child sexual exploitation material (such as explicit photos or videos) is considered sex trafficking—regardless of whether force or threats are used. Youth cannot legally consent to this exploitation.

Sex trafficking often does not look like what people expect. It may not involve kidnapping or strangers. Instead, it frequently begins with subtle manipulation and exploitation that gradually escalates, making it difficult for young people to recognize what is happening or to seek help.

Understanding Exploitation: The Pathway to Sex Trafficking

Exploitation is the foundation of sex trafficking. It occurs when someone takes advantage of a youth’s vulnerabilities—such as their need for belonging, affection, safety, money, or stability—for personal gain. Traffickers intentionally identify and exploit emotional, social, or economic gaps in a young person’s life.

For youth, exploitation often starts long before any sexual activity occurs. Traffickers may:

Offer attention, affection, or a sense of “love” to youth who feel lonely, misunderstood, or unsupported.
Provide gifts, money, rides, food, or a place to stay, creating a sense of obligation or dependence.
Position themselves as a protector, romantic partner, or trusted friend.

This grooming process is gradual and calculated. Over time, boundaries are pushed, trust is manipulated, and the youth may feel they owe the exploiter something in return. What begins as emotional exploitation can escalate into pressure to share sexual images, perform sexual acts, or recruit other youth—key indicators of sex trafficking.

Common Ways Youth Are Exploited

Youth are particularly vulnerable to exploitation in both offline and online spaces. Common examples include:

Emotional Exploitation: Traffickers use compliments, attention, and false promises of love or a better life to create emotional dependence. Youth may be told, “You’re the only one who understands me,” or “We’re in this together.”
Online Exploitation: Social media, gaming platforms, and messaging apps are frequently used to groom youth. Traffickers may pose as peers, encourage private conversations, and request photos that later become tools for blackmail or control.
Financial Exploitation: Youth may be given money, clothing, or expensive items and later told they must “pay it back” by performing sexual acts or creating explicit content.
Housing and Survival Exploitation: Youth who are experiencing instability, homelessness, or family conflict may rely on someone for basic needs. This reliance can quickly be leveraged into sexual exploitation, often referred to as “survival sex.”
Peer Recruitment: Sometimes exploitation comes from other youth who are already being trafficked and are coerced into recruiting friends or classmates.

How Exploitation Leads to Sex Trafficking

Once exploitation takes hold, traffickers use control tactics such as guilt, fear, threats, or shame to maintain power. Youth may be threatened with exposure of private photos, harm to loved ones, or abandonment. They may be made to believe they have no other options or that they are complicit in what is happening.

This cycle of exploitation isolates youth, erodes their self-worth, and makes leaving feel impossible. What may begin as a seemingly consensual relationship or online interaction can quickly become sex trafficking through manipulation and coercion.

Why Awareness Matters

Understanding exploitation is key to prevention. When parents, caregivers, educators, and communities recognize how exploitation works, they are better equipped to intervene early—before exploitation escalates into trafficking. Open communication, strong support systems, and education about healthy relationships and boundaries are powerful protective factors that can keep youth safe.

Prevention starts with awareness, continues with action, and succeeds through community support.

How Everyday Actions Can Help Prevent Youth Exploitation

Preventing sex trafficking starts with understanding exploitation and recognizing that small, consistent actions by adults and communities matter. When we know how traffickers operate, we are better equipped to interrupt the process before harm occurs.

Recognize Grooming and Exploitation

Traffickers often pose as friends or romantic partners.
They may use excessive compliments, gifts, attention, or promises of a better life.
Relationships that move quickly, involve secrecy, or isolate youth are red flags.
Encourage open conversations about new friends and relationships—online and in person.

Promote Online Safety

Social media, gaming platforms, and chat apps are common points of contact for traffickers.
Set privacy controls and parental monitoring where appropriate.
Keep devices in shared spaces when possible.
Teach youth never to share personal information, photos, or locations online.
Discuss the risks of communicating with strangers or meeting online “friends” in person.

Build Strong Support Systems

Youth with strong, positive relationships are less likely to be targeted.
Be present and engaged in a child’s daily life.
Encourage involvement in sports, clubs, and community activities.
Foster connections with trusted adults such as teachers, coaches, mentors, or counselors.
Ensure youth have access to basic needs like safe housing, food, and emotional support.

Start Open, Honest Conversations

Teach youth about personal boundaries and the right to say “no.”
Talk about safe versus unsafe situations.
Model and discuss healthy relationships.
Encourage youth to share anything that makes them uncomfortable without fear of punishment or judgment.