(Polaris Project National Trafficking Hotline Statistics, 2019)

Definition

Commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) and

domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST) include:

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• being prostituted by a family member, boyfriend, or pimp 

• survival sex for food, shelter, or money

• trading of sex for drugs or alcohol

• legally defined as trafficking if under 18yo (CSEC)

• being the subject of pornography

• working as a stripper, in massage parlors, in escort services

• child marriage, mail order bride

• gendered violence/sexual exploitation through religion

• refugee/immigrant sexual exploitation in homeland

• sexual violence/exploitation as act of war

Risk Factors

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• In 2019, 102,968 children were homeless nation wide. Many were homeless because of abuse and neglect.

• LGBTQ+ youth are 120% more likely to experience homelessness than their cisgender or heterosexual peers.

• 70% of street youth are victims of sexual exploitation.

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• 83% of domestic trafficking victims are identified as female.

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• The top five risk factors include: substance use, runaway homeless youth, recent migration or relocation, unstable housing, and mental health concerns.

Health Outcomes

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• 12% of adults in prostitution report physical injuries from violence: bruises, abrasions, missing teeth, broken bones.

• 24% of adults in prostitution report reproductive health problems: STDs, UTIs, pregnancy complications, infertility.

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• 68% of adults in prostitution meet criteria for PTSD. 

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• 33% of trafficked children have a history of self-harm or suicide attempts.

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• According to the FBI, the average lifespan once in the sex trade is 7 years with the most common causes of death including HIV and homicide.

(Hiding in Plain Sight, 2018)

Policy

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• 79% of adults in the sex trade were under 18yo when the trafficking began.

• According to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), anyone under 18yo in the sex trade is a victim of trafficking.

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• 89% of prostituted persons want to escape the sex trade but lack other options for survival.​

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• Safe Harbor laws recognize youth in prostitution as victims instead of criminals.

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• Law enforcement diversion and court diversion programs for prostitution provide behavioral health interventions in lieu of punitive measures.

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• The Equality Model decriminalizes the selling of sex but maintains criminalization for buyers, pimps, and traffickers.

(Survivors for Solutions, 2019)

Residential Programs

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• 89% of prostituted persons want to escape the sex trade but lack other options for survival.​

• The 89% list the following as barriers to exiting: safe housing (75%), healthcare (61%), counseling (56%), drug/alcohol treatment (47%), job training (76%), legal assistance (51%), childcare (44%).​

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• ALABAMA

  • ​WellHouse (minors, adults, faith-based)

• ARIZONA

  • Streetlight USA (minors, faith-based)

• CALIFORNIA​​

  • CAST (adults)

  • Generate Hope (adults, faith-based)

  • Hope Refuge (minors)

  • Resilience Rising (adults)​

• COLORADO

  • Sarah's Home (minors, faith-based) ​

• FLORIDA

  • Latisha's House (adults, faith-based)​

• GEORGIA

  • Wellspring Living (minors, adults, faith-based)

• MASSACHUSETTS

  • Jana's Place (adults)

(Polaris National Human Trafficking Hotline, 2019)

• MICHIGAN

  • ​Sacred Beginnings (adults, faith-based)

• NEW YORK

  • ​GEMS (minors, adults)

• OHIO

  • ​Gracehaven (minors, faith-based)

• OKLAHOMA

  • RISE (minors)

• TEXAS

  • Bob's House of Hope (adults, males, faith-based)​

• VIRGINIA

  • Latisha's House (adults, faith-based)​

• WASHINGTON DC

  • FAIR Girls (adults)​

*To add your residential program for CSE survivors
to this list, please email us.

101 S Topanga Canyon Blvd, PO Box 805, Topanga, CA 90290-9998

(310) 488-8195

resiliencerising@yahoo.com