RT Article
T1 Barriers and Facilitators to Leaving a Trafficker: A Qualitative Analysis of the Accounts of People Who Have Experienced Sex Trafficking
JF Victims & offenders
VO 19
IS 8
SP 1451
OP 1470
A1 Pfeffer, Rebecca
A1 Barrick, Kelle
A1 Galvan, Terri
A2 Barrick, Kelle
A2 Galvan, Terri
LA English
YR 2024
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/190893011X
AB There is a growing body of literature on the barriers and facilitators to exiting the commercial sex industry, but little empirical research on how this process may be different for those who have experienced sex trafficking. In this study, we explored the barriers that people who have experienced sex trafficking encountered when they considered leaving their trafficker or leaving the commercial sex industry, as well as facilitators that helped them overcome those barriers. To address these questions, we used qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with 158 people who had experienced sex trafficking. Among study participants, the circumstances of leaving a trafficking situation incredibly varied. Most participants faced complex barriers to exiting their trafficking situation and their exit pathways reflected these differences. Despite these barriers, most study participants had left their traffickers. We found that there were two broad ways that study participants left their trafficking situations: either actively or passively. We discuss implications for service providers, law enforcement, and policymakers to help support individual agency and decision-making to better facilitate trafficking exit.
K1 commercial sex industry
K1 commercial sex
K1 Sex Work
K1 Exploitation
K1 Human Trafficking
K1 sex trafficking
DO 10.1080/15564886.2023.2214814