You Are More Than
Supporting Underrepresented Populations
Specializing in supporting
Familial Trafficking Survivors
What is Familial Trafficking?
Familiar Trafficking is a form of trafficking impacting survivors throughout the United States who are being forced to engage in the commercial sex industry by a family member (parent, guardian, cousin, uncle, aunt etc.)
Why is Familial Trafficking Not More Known?
Often times it can be difficult to identify and support familiar trafficking survivors due to the closed network that many traffickers within families use and the fact that many providers may confuse sexual abuse with familiar trafficking.
It can also be difficult to understand when program services that are geared towards trafficking survivors, often only talk about pimp-controlled or gang-controlled sex trafficking.
Where can Familial trafficking happen?
It can happen anywhere.
Who does Familial trafficking impact the most?
There are limited inclusive studies that examine the impacts of familiar trafficking throughout the United States but one study found that familiar trafficking often happens within rural communities and to individuals from white communities. Research needs to be updated and inclusive of children who do not come from rural homes and white families.
How do I know the difference between Familial Trafficking and Sexual Abuse?
Typically sexual abuse involves someone close to a child forcing them to engage in sexual acts. This can be a parent, guardian figure, a coach, a teacher, a priest, or anyone who has direct access to the child. This individual may give the child ice cream money to keep quiet or buy them toys to keep them quiet, but there is no third-party involvement or profit being gained, so this would not classify as familiar trafficking.
When a family figure is gaining something of value (money, food, shelter, drugs etc.) in exchange for having the child engage in sexual acts, and a third party is involved (another person) -- This is Familiar Trafficking.
Examples of Familiar trafficking:
A parent or family member exchanges the child (for sexual acts) to fulfill payment for illegal drugs.
A parent or family member creates sexually explicit content online of their child and receives compensation for that content.
A parent or family member forces the child into the commercial sex industry as an adult. All the money the child is making goes directly back to the parent.
A parent or family member forces the child to have sex with other people in the community and receives compensation for that exchange.
*This list is not exhaustive but a few examples
In 2021 - 2022 Fiscal Year:
49% of YAMT’s community is made up of Familiar Trafficking Survivors
45% of those survivors have experienced their trafficking on average of 8-12 years.
Survivors of Familial Trafficking will often experience their exploitation at a very young age and for longer periods of time.