Sex Trafficking: Exploring AgencyMain MenuProceed With Caution!Rationale for StudyResearch TopicsImage SourcesRachel Copleyd440c47bb39ae2884d7f79cdbcf92e0501f11411Haley Swartz7190b63a9e715337147987855d42d7ea95aca260
Trapped
12016-04-10T11:05:21-07:00Haley Swartz7190b63a9e715337147987855d42d7ea95aca26082511A compilation of photographs that depict victims of sex trafficking as trapped and lacking agency.plain2016-04-10T11:05:22-07:00Critical Commons2016VideoVariousVarious2016-04-10T17:59:41ZHaley Swartz7190b63a9e715337147987855d42d7ea95aca260
When you begin your journey, choices will be made for you. Because you are a child. But your journey won't end with childhood. Or with meeting your pimp. Or with becoming trapped by your pimp in sex trafficking.
You get to make choices along the way And the choices you make Will determine the outcome and your success.
You might get lost. You might get stuck. You might be redirected to a page that has already been visited. The frustration you're going to feel represents the cycle of enslavement and the complicated process through which victims may develop agency to break the cycle.
Click the "It Begins in Childhood" button below to begin your journey.
Immersion is the first stage, is the beginning of the journey, and describes the indoctrination of the individual into the lifestyle by the trafficker/pimp. Immersion is part of the entry pathway as its main goal is to detain and retain the individual. This immersion leaves little room to consider leaving or even develop the awareness of leaving. (During this stage, an exit would occur typically through interception — meaning a victim is discovered and forcibly removed.) However, permanent exit may be difficult for someone who is in this first stage due to intense fear of being recaptured or fear of being without any resources.
Baker, L.M., Dalla, R. L., & Williamson, C. (2010). Exiting prostitution: an integrated model. Violence Against Women, 16(5), 579–600.