Perpetrators of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Adolescent Girls: “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp”—NOT!

• In Event: Criminology at the Intersections of Human Trafficking

Abstract

This presentation will focus on what adolescents who have been victims of commercial sexual exploitation tell us about the men who have sold them on the streets, online and through networks of other offenders. This presentation and discussion is based on in-depth narratives of and research interviews with 61 homeless, runaway and commercially sexually victimized teens in the United States. The research was a Department of Justice-funded, field-based, qualitative, study. Analysis of the narratives of 23 domestically trafficked adolescent females using a grounded theory approach contributes to an understanding of the behaviors and characteristics of perpetrators who have been variously labeled "3rd party exploiters" or "pimps." The themes identified contribute to an understanding of perpetrator characteristics and operation of a criminal enterprise. Themes include perpetrator use of force and violence; psychological manipulation and isolation; rules and social control; and cooperation and organization. The presentation will describe perpetrator reliance on other offenders and on the strength of the commercial market. This research suggests a need for a more complex understanding of these offenders and the support they receive from societal norms and values. Police and community options for prevention and interdiction will be discussed.

Author

• Linda Williams, University of Massachusetts, Lowell