A special thank you to podcast guest Britanny Dunn!
Sex Trafficking Is Closer Than You Think
The Myth of “Somewhere Else”
When most people hear the phrase “sex trafficking,” their minds drift to distant countries or dramatic movie plots. They imagine kidnappings in foreign cities or organized crime rings operating far from suburban neighborhoods. That mental picture allows many Americans to feel insulated, as though trafficking belongs somewhere else.
The reality is far more unsettling.
In the United States alone, hundreds of thousands of children are estimated to be trafficked each year, yet victim identification remains a small fraction of that number. The reason so many people believe they have never encountered trafficking is not because it is rare, but because it is hidden in plain sight.
Grooming, Not Kidnapping
Contrary to popular belief, trafficking rarely begins with abduction. In fact, abductions account for only a small percentage of cases. Most trafficking begins with grooming.
A trafficker identifies vulnerability and slowly builds trust. The relationship may look like romance. It may resemble mentorship. In some cases, it unfolds within the family unit itself. More than half of child trafficking victims are first trafficked by a family member. That statistic alone dismantles the comforting assumption that traffickers are always strangers lurking in the shadows.
Grooming works precisely because it is incremental. The abuse escalates gradually, making it difficult for the victim to recognize what is happening. A teenager may believe she is in love. A child may believe this is normal. Lies about identity and worth become embedded long before the victim understands the full scope of exploitation.
The Hidden Cost to Childhood
When abuse begins early, development in other areas often stops. Survivors may reach adulthood without having learned basic life skills because their childhood was consumed by survival. Hygiene, financial literacy, emotional regulation, and relational health can all be stunted when trauma defines the formative years.
Financial gain, which many outsiders assume is part of the arrangement, is frequently nonexistent for the victim. Numerous survivors endure years of exploitation without seeing any of the money generated from their abuse. Instead, they experience malnutrition, neglect, manipulation, and violence.
Trafficking is not glamorous. It is degrading.
The Pornography Connection
Modern trafficking is deeply entangled with pornography. As pornography consumption escalates, demand for more extreme content increases. Survivors regularly report that buyers bring pornographic material into encounters and demand reenactment. Recording and distributing those encounters multiplies profit for traffickers and extends the victimization indefinitely.
This reality dismantles the myth that pornography is a victimless habit. Participation in that economy strengthens a system that exploits vulnerable people. In many cases, the recorded abuse remains online for years, resurfacing when survivors attempt to pursue education or employment.
The private click often funds a public injustice.
Why So Few People Notice
If trafficking is so prevalent, why does it remain invisible to so many communities?
One reason is that the indicators are subtle. Another is that most people do not feel equipped to intervene. The issue appears complex, and complexity can paralyze action.
Yet expertise is not required to begin responding. Concern is enough.
New tools now allow everyday citizens to report suspected trafficking quickly and securely. Technology can evaluate behavioral indicators and route credible reports to law enforcement within seconds. That means awareness no longer has to end in uncertainty. It can translate directly into action.
The Battle for Identity
At its core, trafficking thrives on lies. Victims are told they are commodities. They are convinced that their value is determined by how much they can be bought or sold for. Branding, manipulation, and coercion reinforce that false identity over time.
Restoration begins when those lies are confronted with truth and dignity. Healing requires patient care because trauma rewires the brain. Rebuilding trust, safety, and identity takes intentional support over months and sometimes years.
The process is difficult, but it is not impossible.
Redemption Is Real
Survivors who receive sustained support often demonstrate remarkable resilience. Some go on to graduate from college. Others pursue careers in public policy, nursing, or advocacy. Many choose to help prevent the next generation from experiencing what they endured.
Their lives stand as testimony that exploitation does not have the final word.
Ending trafficking will require collective resolve. Families that prioritize healthy formation, churches that address sexual brokenness honestly, communities that refuse to ignore suspicious behavior, and individuals who reject pornography all weaken the system that traffickers depend on.
Every small act matters.
Sex trafficking is closer than you think because vulnerability is closer than you think. It exists in affluent neighborhoods and struggling communities alike. Hiding behind familiar faces and trusted institutions. It flourishes when silence prevails.
The good news is that silence is not inevitable. Awareness can grow. Courage can spread. Systems can change. Lives can be restored.
This fight does not belong only to specialists. It belongs to anyone willing to notice, to care, and to act.