Federal law draws a sharp distinction between sex trafficking and labor trafficking of minors. Minors in commercial sex are automatically considered victims, regardless of consent or the presence of a third-party trafficker; the law recognizes that youth, unmet needs, and exploitation by others override any appearance of choice. That protection, however, does not extend equally to all children. Minors exploited in labor trafficking must prove force or coercion to access services. Those pulled into criminal economies, street-level drug markets, theft networks, and other illicit trades, are frequently treated as offenders rather than victims, even when the hallmarks of trafficking are clearly present. These children are disproportionately boys of color, and the racialized and gendered assumptions embedded in our systems make it harder to see their exploitation for what it is. This presentation argues that the line between sex trafficking, labor trafficking, and forced criminality is far less clear than policy suggests, and that who we choose to see as a victim is shaped by race, gender, and class. Drawing on lived experience, composite stories, and an exploration of criminal economy dynamics, this workshop will examine how violence prevention frameworks, harm reduction practices, and minor sex trafficking research can inform a more expansive understanding of victimhood. Attendees will leave with concrete tools for systems and policy advocacy, and a challenge to extend the same compassion our movement offers girls in the sex trades to all children caught in cycles of exploitation.
Trigger Warning: This presentation contains information (written, spoken, or visual) that may be triggering or (re)traumatizing to attendees.
Bakari Roscoe is a speaker and advocate with a background in harm reduction, food accessibility, and community organizing. A steering group member and working group member of the National Survivor Network and advisory board member of Freedom Network USA's Survivor Reentry Program, Bakari brings a survivor-centered perspective to addressing the forced criminalization of youth populations.
Indigenous survivor-leader rooted in Black liberation movements and multicultural kinship networks, Sufiyah Yasmine’s work examines CSEC, labor trafficking, forced criminality, and abuse by law enforcement and the intersectionality of gendered, racialized, and state violence in populations of systems-involved youth, particularly within contexts of missing relatives, cultural erasure, and colonization.