Uncovering Indicators of Commercial Sexual Exploitation

Abstract

It is estimated that annually 100,000 to 300,000 youth are at risk for sex trafficking; a commercial sex act induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or any such act where the person induced to perform such an act is younger than 18 years of age. Increasingly, such transactions are occurring online via Internet-based sites that serve the commercial sex industry. Commercial sex transactions involving trafficking are illegal; thus, Internet discussions between those involved must be veiled. Even so, transactions around sex trafficking do occur. Within these transactions are innuendos that provide one avenue for detecting potential activity. The purpose of this study is to identify linguistic indicators of potential commercial sexual exploitation within the online comments of men posted on an Internet site. Six hundred sixty-six posts from five Midwest cities and 363 unique members were analyzed via content analysis. Three main indicators were found: the presence of youth or desire for youthfulness, presence of pimps, and awareness of vulnerability. These findings begin a much-needed dialogue on uncovering online risks of commercial sexual exploitation and support the need for further research on Internet indicators of sex trafficking.

Keywords

Internet and abuse media and violence prostitution/sex work

Thousands of men, women, and children are trafficked into the United States for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation (U.S. Department of State, 2016). But victims of sex trafficking also include U.S. residents and citizens. For instance, from December 7, 2007, through March 31, 2016, the Polaris Project received over 100,000 reports of potential human trafficking cases via the National Human Trafficking Resource Center’s (NHTRC; 2016) Hotline. Researchers have yet to adequately estimate the number of U.S. youth who are at risk for sex trafficking each year (Stransky & Finkelhor, 2008); the estimates range from 100,000 to 300,000 youth (Kotrla, 2010). It is likely that current numbers cited may be underestimates as these data are derived from statistics on homeless youth who are considered at risk for prostitution and from records of youth who are arrested for sex-related crimes (Clawson, Dutch, Solomon, & Grace, 2009).

Any discussion on the extent of the sex trafficking industry must begin with defining what constitutes these activities. For the purposes of this study, sex trafficking represents a subset of the broader phenomenon of commercial sexual exploitation. According to the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA; Pub. L. No. 106-386, 114 Stat. 1464), sex trafficking is defined as “a commercial sex act induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age” (TVPA, 2000, p. 8). In adults, force, fraud, or coercion must be present to meet the criteria for trafficking (Thomson, Hirshberg, Corbett, Valila, & Howley, 2011). However, from a legal standpoint, commercial sex exchanges that involve minors are always considered sex trafficking. In minors, the spectrum of commercial sexual exploitation may range from sexual abuse of a child by a family member or friend in exchange for their parents’ drugs to survival sex during homelessness. Given the scope of the problem, and its tremendous potential for harm, the lack of national alarm surrounding sex trafficking is puzzling (Siskin & Finklea, 2015). Perhaps this muted response relates to the fact that commercial sexual exploitation occurs mainly out of public view.

Indicators of Sex Trafficking

Three major indicator identification projects that focus on indicators of sex trafficking will be briefly reviewed. The work was informed by efforts to isolate indicators for clinicians, law enforcement, and social service agencies to identify potential victims and activities that may reflect trafficking. The first is a list developed by the Polaris Project (2016a) and includes work and living conditions and individual characteristics that might be indicators of sex trafficking. The indicators differ based on particular settings. For instance, indicators that might be detected in the health care setting include fractures, memory loss, and dissociation (Polaris Project, 2016b). Another list of indicators generated by the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) include living conditions (e.g., living where he or she works, living with a large amount of people), evidence of physical injuries (e.g., signs of torture such as cigarette burns or scarring), financial/legal situations (e.g., a third party who insists on interpreting, presence of a signed contract), and brothel indicators (e.g., customer logbook or receipt book, high traffic of men; Walker-Rodriguez & Hill, 2011).

Finally, the third avenue used to identify sex trafficking victims is to raise awareness of vulnerable youth. The U.S. government Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report identifies youth populations considered vulnerable to trafficking in the United States. For instance, vulnerable youth include those who have been involved in the child welfare or juvenile justice systems, who have runaway, or who are homeless (U.S. Department of State, 2016). Their list of vulnerable youth extends to particular cultures (e.g., American Indians and Alaska Natives), workers (e.g., migrant laborers), and populations with limited English proficiency. Also included are persons with disabilities, rural populations, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals. A recent study on victims of sex trafficking confirmed this list of risk factors (Fedina, Williamson, & Perdue, 2019). The development and sharing of lists of indicators is important because commercial sexual trafficking remains largely in the shadows due to the criminal nature of the activity and the potential legal repercussions for anyone engaged in the industry.

Online Indicators of Sex Trafficking

A shift is occurring within the commercial sex industry and transactions are increasingly conducted on the Internet (Kunze, 2010); estimates are that 76% of transactions for sex with minors are initiated via the Internet (Ark of Hope for Children, 2016). Given the illegal nature of sex trafficking, Internet discussions between those involved must be veiled. To capture Internet discussions around sex trafficking, researchers have examined linguistic innuendos as a source for detecting potential activity (Ibanez & Suthers, 2014). These inquiries are important because they alert law enforcement to potential activity and allow them to focus their attention on potential illicit encounters (Ibanez & Suthers, 2014). For instance, researchers at the McCain Institute reviewed advertisements on a popular sex selling Internet site in cities prior to Super Bowl games. They flagged 50 ads whose use of language may have indicated involvement of minors (McCain Institute for International Leadership, 2014).

To date, only two published studies have attempted to track Internet-based sex trafficking activity. The first study sought to identify indicators in online escort advertisements. In this study, the investigators developed a list of indicators including aliases posted, movement or those aliases being used in multiple locations, traveling in groups, third-person language used in posted ads, an advertisement of ethnicity/nationality, and restricted movement (Ibanez & Suthers, 2014). They used this list of trafficking indicators to examine 1,436 Internet-posted escort ads and determined that 82% of advertisements contained language indicative of trafficking, that is, advertised nationality, alias, and use of third-party language. They also utilized the published contact phone numbers to track the movement of traffickers and victims across and into Hawaii.

In the second study, Roe-Sepowitz and colleagues (2015) used advertisement volume and response to decoy ads as a way to measure the presence of sex trafficking in cities hosting the Super Bowl. They scanned online sex ads for indicators of sex trafficking, for example, faces and background information provided in the ad and used a tool called the Sex Trafficking Matrix to identify indicators in online ads that suggested the presence of victims 18 years or younger. Through this method, they scanned 1,395 ads in the Phoenix area. Twenty-three ads were flagged as possibly involving minors. These alerts were then sent to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The researchers did not provide the specific indicators contained in the Sex Trafficking Matrix but did demonstrate how the approach was effectively utilized. Given the nature of the activity, identifying indicators does not “prove” trafficking is occurring, but rather, the presence of indicators raises flags to the potential that sex trafficking might be taking place (Ibanez & Suthers, 2014).

In summary, there are distinct populations that are considered to be at particular risk for sex trafficking and there has been a significant focus on developing indicator lists for sex trafficking victims that might be encountered in live scenarios. There has been less attention to exploring online trafficking activity. Thus, literature on Internet-based indicators of sex trafficking is sparse, particularly information that is readily available to the public, media, and policy makers (Logan, Walker, & Hunt, 2009; Pocar, 2007). The absence of possible indicators of sex trafficking in Internet-based commercial sex transactions impedes detection and allows the business of online sex trafficking to proceed without restraint. The utility of explicit information that details how Internet users employ veiled forms of reference to children and sex trafficking lies in the ability to raise public awareness and spur prompt action to mitigate Internet-facilitated sex trafficking. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify linguistic indicators of potential commercial sexual exploitation within the online comments of men that were posted on an Internet site. This site provides a forum for men who are interested in discussing their experiences around buying sex.

Method

This study employed a qualitative descriptive design. Specifically, content analysis was used to search for linguistic indicators of commercial sexual exploitation on an Internet forum using a preliminary list of indicators (see Table 1). We used the definition of indicators provided by Ibanez and Suthers (2014) that clarifies that indicators are red flags that signify, but do not prove, sex trafficking may be occurring. The presence of these red flags suggests that further investigation is needed. This preliminary list of indicators was developed with assistance from our content expert and available literature (Ibanez & Suthers, 2014; Polaris Project, 2016a; J. Raphael, personal communication, August 8, 2014). Our content expert has expertise in commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking (Raphael & Ashley, 2008; Raphael & Myers-Powell, 2010; Raphael, Reichert, & Powers, 2010). This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at the authors’ institution.

Table 1.

Indicators.

Indicator/Red Flag	Description/Details	Total Indicators (% of Total) (n=68)	Key Words	Key Word Frequency (no. of times word appeared in posts analyzed)
Youth (minors)	Desire for youth (i.e., appearance, sexual inexperience, disinterest, or fear) Criticisms of older women	28 (41%)	Young	50
			Spinner	26
			Petite	16
			Small	13
Impairment (vulnerability)	Under the influence of drugs or alcohol, symptoms of mental illness or impairment	21 (31%)
Survival needs (vulnerability)	Identification of survival needs, malnourishment, poor hygiene, lack of education, family involvement	21 (31%)
Presence of pimps	Physical presence, pictures that do not match, groups of girls	19 (28%)
Communication (pimps)	Lack of cell phone, inconsistent phone numbers, difficulty getting in touch, inability to speak English	19 (28%)

Setting

The setting of this study was a free online forum, which is divided up by city and state into topic-specific discussion boards. The site is described as an exclusively heterosexual site for “men looking for sex with women” (USA Sex Guide, 2016a). Members are expected to share and receive information about the commercial sex industry by posting on a variety of discussion boards organized by interests (i.e., escorts, massage, street, BackPage).

In 2015, the site published statistics that there were 394,115 members, discussions around 12,847 topics, and 2,271,755 total posts (USA Sex Guide, 2016a). The site reports having over 400,000 registered forum members, 200,000 unique guests daily, 600,000 page loads per day, and an average of 19 minutes, per individual, spent on the site per visit (USA Sex Guide, 2016b). The website’s independent traffic monitor (Stat Counter, 2016) reported that there were 11,725,800 unique visitors in 2011. In 2016, there were 59,850,115 unique visits to the site.

The men who post are anonymous users and divided into two distinct categories: members and senior members. Members must register online and create a user name. Members may also seek senior membership which is contingent upon the length of membership (at least 6 months), quantity of posts (at least 25), quality of the member’s past posts (provision of credible information), and approval by the moderator of the site (USA Sex Guide, 2016c). Senior members are respected by other members on the site, presumably because of their knowledge and expertise related to buying sex. Guests are allowed to read posts on the forum but may not post.

Sample and Subjects

In light of the volume of activity on sex-buying websites, it is necessary to develop a strategy for selecting how and in what time frame a particular site or particular sections of the site will be scrutinized (Ibanez & Suthers, 2014). The postings in this study were drawn from forums in five Midwestern cities from four states that were suggested by a content expert because each location represented a location where sex trafficking had the potential to exist (J. Raphael, personal communication, August 8, 2014). The convenience sample in this study was comprised of online postings by presumed men who posted on any of the forums in any part of the Chicago, Illinois; Detroit, Michigan; Northwest Indiana and Indianapolis, Indiana; or Toledo, Ohio, sections in a 1 week period from June 1, 2014, to June 7, 2014. This is not a representative sample of all men who buy sex but instead represents men who report that they buy sex in the Midwest, who are literate, have Internet access, and use the website.

Data Collection

The researchers gathered all posts from each of the five city’s (four states) forum on the website. Each forum includes 13 sections with specific names such as BackPage Advertiser Reviews, Escort Classified Ads, Strip Club Reports, Streetwalker Reports, Craigslist Reviews, and Truck Stop Reports. Posts were collected for at least 1 week in each city and then examined. Each posting was copied from the website with the researcher entering as a guest user (no registration required). The researchers made no posts onto any of the forums. The copied postings were uploaded into a web-based data management system, Dedoose cross platform application (Dedoose Version 6.1.18, SocioCultural Research Consultants, 2015), for coding and subsequent analysis.

Analysis

Content analysis was used to explore every post from June 1, 2014, to June 7, 2014, via systematic coding to identify trends, patterns, and discourses of communication (Schreier, 2014; Vaismoradi, Turunen, & Bondas, 2013). In addition to coding, content analysis included quantifying results by counting how many units of data fell under each category and considering this information as an objective measure or weight to guide interpretation. The content analysis was conducted by coding data according to a set of likely indicators (Ibanez & Suthers, 2014; Polaris Project, 2016a) of sex trafficking recommended by our content expert and the literature (J. Raphael, personal communication, August 8, 2014; see Table 1). Once analysis began, the list of linguistic indicators was expanded to include slang or common terms consistently used on the website to refer to youth.

While the content coding was particularly sensitive to the predetermined indicators of sex trafficking, the coding was also broad and open to additional categories of indicators of commercial sexual exploitation. The use of predetermined indicators of sex trafficking was intended to delineate indicators of sex trafficking from elements of commercial sex. The indicator categories helped track the themes and topics of the postings in an effort to validate existing lists of indicators of online trafficking.

Results

Six hundred sixty-six total posts were analyzed. We identified a total of 363 members (identified by their unique pseudonym). Of these, 163 were in the Detroit forum, 107 in the Chicago forum, 56 in the Northwest Indiana/Indianapolis forums, and 37 in the Toledo forum. Based on our predetermined list of potential indicators of sex trafficking, approximately 10% of the posts analyzed revealed an indicator of the broader concept of commercial sexual exploitation. Detroit and Chicago had more posts than both cities in Indiana and Toledo.

There were 68 times when online language reflected potential indicators of commercial sexual exploitation. As a reminder, for the purposes of this study, sex trafficking represents a subset of the broader phenomenon of commercial sexual exploitation. The operational definition of sex trafficking used was commercial sex acts with minors or induced via force, fraud, or coercion (TVPA, 2000) and was considered a subset of commercial sexual exploitation. The indicators were then grouped into one of five broad content areas that were collapsed further into three main content areas (see Table 1). These three most prevalent indicators were the presence of youth or desire for youthfulness (n = 28/68), vulnerability (n = 21/68), and the presence of pimps (n = 19/68). Of the total 666 posts, the majority of the 68 indicators of commercial sexual exploitation were found in Detroit (n = 31/68) and Chicago (n = 24/68). More indicators were identified in the Toledo postings (n = 12/37) than Indiana (n = 1/56) despite Toledo having a fewer total number of posts than Indianapolis and Northwest Indiana combined.

Youthfulness

Because discussing sex with minors is strictly prohibited on the site, the researchers searched for and counted commonly seen veiled language for youth. Common veiled language included words related to youthfulness (i.e., young, spinner, petite, small). The word young was counted 50 times throughout all forums as possibly veiled language about sex with minors. Additional words counted that may also be veiled language indicative of youth were spinner (defined on the site as a small, petite girl), petite, and small.

Wording that suggested the desire for youth was the most common code (Detroit = 13, Toledo = 8, Chicago = 7, Indianapolis/Northwest Indiana = 0) with the majority of all Toledo codes being coded for youth (n = 8/12; 67% of all Toledo codes). Youthfulness was coded if the member noted that the person looked young or displayed sexual inexperience, fear, or reluctance. Desire for youthfulness was coded if the member was critical of older women who were also available. For instance, one member from the Detroit BackPage Advertiser Reviews complained about a woman who presented herself as younger than her actual age. Embedded in his post was his knowledge that this woman entered the commercial sex industry as a teenager:

29 yrs old. Yeah right. And I’m 6 yrs old. I’ve known her since her days at Leggs. And we all know how long ago that is. I think I was one of her first dances when she started there. She was 16 and had fake I’d [sic]. Lots of miles on that one!

The next two examples provide descriptions of girls who could be minors:

20 yo black beautiful spinner. Saw her twice today! What a performer, great oral can take it pretty deep. Pics are real because I took them she altered them to cover her tattoos. She is a hair over 5 feet. Awesome perky cee tits, tiny waist (size 0), and a great ass. Also she is tight. Unfortunately everything is covered. She is very nice and fun to be around. I have reviewed her last time she was in town as did others. She is here for a short time. See her ad on BackPage for her number.

I just saw a petite black girl in Southfield. Haven’t had it like that in a minute!

Dude I was skeptical at first cause I don’t like small girls. So when I saw she was under five feet I almost left. Glad I didn’t. Nice room, really cool & I’m convinced she’s new 2 this! Your welcome. My contribution 2 the community.

Vulnerability

Also apparent in the posts was the members’ knowledge of the women’s vulnerability. The posts describe how members willingly and knowingly took advantage of the vulnerability for their own personal gain. It should be noted that awareness of vulnerability alone is not necessarily an indicator of sex trafficking. But it is a red flag for sex trafficking due to the likelihood that the presence of vulnerability increases one’s risk of being forced or coerced into committing commercial sex acts. Vulnerability was coded if particular elements of an encounter were noted such as drugs and alcohol, mental illness, the inability to speak English, the presence of impoverishment, or awareness of trading sex to meet survival needs. The following quote illustrates an instance when a member from the Chicago Craigslist (CL) Advertiser Reviews reported that he exploited women’s vulnerability:

People have been pming asking me how to work CL. Instead of going straight to the personal section in CL, Click on Resume under “gigs.” The section is full of girls that are jobless and in desperate need of cash. Message them and offer them a job as your masseuse. Truth is this is where I have found the majority of my personal stash [sic].

There were several posts that reflected instances of exploiting vulnerability. The series of quotes below from the members demonstrate how much coercion and exploitation are apparent in the current sex trade in the United States. For example, one member in the Chicago forum states, “All girls, even the Hot ones will get old. Then if they’re still in the Business, their Rates will go down just so they can get Clients.” Similarly another member in the Toledo forum suggests, “Maybe you or someone else should try her. Before she has the kid. One just might be able to f her and get a BJ at the same exact time.” Another member in the Chicago forum reports,

Cruised down the northside and caught the eye of a WSW with a limp. Name is ***** the trip cost. 6 Nice girl, a 8 on the sws, with a nice rack. Only that limp got to me. She will be out again.

Yet another member in the Chicago forum adds, “Like I said, she’s new at this and she’s just a regular MILF who is going through a divorce. You can definitely negotiate a better price with her from what she initially offers.”

Presence of Pimps

Some of the men’s post on the site described the presence of pimps, which is another potential indicator of sex trafficking. Evidence of the presence of pimps was coded if the member noted the physical presence of pimps, groups of girls, or difficulty maintaining contact with a “provider” (the members on the site refer to the women they buy sex from as providers). Although posts mentioning the physical presence of pimps are obvious indicators, some of the other indicators such as pictures that do not match or groups of girls also suggest the presence of pimps based upon how pimps tend to operate, that is, the business model of pimping typically involves groups of girls or women (Aronwitz, Theuermann, & Tyurykanova, 2010) and the promotion of them via pictures that lure buyers into reaching out for service (Dank et al., 2014). The presence of pimps alone does not indicate sex trafficking but is a red flag for commercial sexual exploitation and when combined with other indicators (i.e., youth and/or vulnerability) may be an indicator of sex trafficking.

This post from the Chicago Massage Parlors board demonstrates how groups of girls may be reflective of sex trafficking, “Some of the AMP girls actually live in the spa almost full time. After they close they either sleep on a massage table or have another room with a bed and some of their things.” Similarly, another quote from the Detroit Massage Parlor section links groups of girls with the person who is “in charge”:

Looks like there are two groups working out of the same complex (it’s a large complex). If you look at the poster’s age, A***’s place is 33 and the other is 27. Don’t know if they are run by the same person and if A***answers the phone for the new place or if they are totally seperate [sic].

In summary, not all categories of the indicators of sex trafficking were prevalent in the posts of men (e.g., explicit descriptions of sex with minors or violence perpetuated against women), but as noted, explicit posts about minors are not allowed on the site. But what was obvious in the coding of posts in the five Midwest cities was the presence of themes consistent with having pimp-facilitated commercial sex with younger, vulnerable girls or at least vulnerable women with youthful appearances and behavior.

Discussion

This research sought to examine indicators of commercial sexual exploitation on a public Internet website. Three prevalent commercial sexual exploitation indicator themes were identified—the presence of youth or desire for youthfulness, awareness of vulnerability, and the presence of pimps. Due to the website’s rules against explicit mention of commercial sex with minors, overt indicators of sex trafficking of minors were rare. Nevertheless, the posts revealed themes that are consistent with engaging in commercial sex with younger, vulnerable girls or at least women with youthful appearances and behavior. It is difficult to ascertain whether the members on the site were discussing minors, but the suggestive use of terms such as spinner, very young looking, and small girls makes the presence of and interest in minors possible.

The data from this study confirm that within the commercial sex industry, there exists a significant desire for youthfulness. Currently in mainstream society, advertisements on billboards, television commercials, and the Internet flood the senses with suggestive language and music that increasingly highlights the youthful appearance of women and girls. Turning a blind eye to this focus on youthfulness and the suggestive nature of advertising may contribute to a culture of tolerance surrounding the commercial sex industry and ultimately sex trafficking (Shared Hope International, n.d.).

The attitudes of the buyers toward the providers of sex clearly reflect the subtleties of fraud and coercion. These attitudes are reflected in the study findings that provide examples of buyers discussing women in compromising situations either due to drug or alcohol use or the need to make money to survive. Despite this awareness, the buyers in this sample often justified buying sex as a way to help these women meet their needs whether it is for mere survival or to obtain drugs and alcohol. Thus, the relationships between sellers of sex and members depicted by the members on the site are complex and operate within group-created realms and norms (Bounds, Delaney, & Julion, 2017).

In many of the posts, also apparent were the signs of pimps who were involved with or brokered the transactions. Pimps have been known to use force but some studies suggest that pimps’ main tactics used to recruit and control women are fraud and coercion (Aronwitz et al., 2010; Dank et al., 2014; Raphael & Ashley, 2008). The coercion is not necessarily violent but includes the creation of romantic love interests with pimps and the establishment of mutual dependency (Aronwitz et al., 2010; Raphael & Ashley, 2008). In these commercial sex scenarios, once successfully manipulated into a romantic relationship based in mutual dependency, women are pitted against each other to compete for attention, affection, and profits (Dank et al., 2014).

Limitations

A few assumptions were made about the members on the site. Due to the anonymity afforded by the site, it can only be presumed that the members are heterosexual men who are interested in buying sex with women. Furthermore, we can also only assume that the descriptions of encounters posted on the site actually happened. Ultimately, there is no way of knowing whether the events described actually occurred or are simply fantasy or grandstanding. The authors’ access to posting on the site was limited to the public posts that were screened by a moderator before being posted. We had no access to the private messages between members. It is possible that the public posts reflect a diluted version of what is said via private messaging.

In addition to the limitations above, studying one website in five cities restricts our ability to generalize the findings to all men who use sites like this one. The sheer volume of commercial sex transactions that occur online (Janson, Durchslag, Mann, Marro, & Matvey, 2013) necessitated that we limit our examination to pages hosted in specified cities. Also, this study sought to focus solely on men purchasing commercial sex from women and thus does not account for all females, males, and transgendered individuals who are likely to be involved in commercial sex and thus potential victims of sex trafficking.

Implications

The lack of public awareness and alarm regarding sex trafficking has important implications for those who are responsible for identifying both victims and perpetrators (i.e., law enforcement and child welfare). Although laws exist that prohibit child pornography, the explosion of the commercial sex industry on the Internet has yet to be fully regulated, particularly to ensure that children and adult trafficking victims are not being exploited online. Laws targeting this specific issue are sorely needed.

The results of this study suggest that the members of this particular website acknowledged the presence of youth and the desire to purchase sex from individuals with youthful appearances who could be minors. Therefore, there may be a need to regulate language used on the Internet that is suggestive of buying sex with minors. As noted, members on this website were particularly careful not to explicitly describe sexual encounters with minors. Despite the members’ cautious posts, the presence of youth and the desire for youthfulness was still evident. These online declarations (i.e., the desire for youth/youthfulness) may fuel the pimps’ or traffickers’ actions to make sure that individuals who are young, or youthful in appearance, are available. This recommendation, that legal ramifications are necessary, can be likened to similar laws that hold individuals accountable for language that instigates criminal activity that results in harm or criminal activity (e.g., inciting a riot). Pornographic images of children and the production and distribution of sexually explicit images of minors is illegal (U.S. Department of Justice, 2015). Nevertheless, advertisers and the media frequently push the legal limits with regard to images and language that promote a culture of tolerance that may jeopardize the safety of youth (Becker & Marcum, 2014). The threshold for what constitutes child pornography is controversial, yet there is a defined line that cannot be crossed in regard to the possession of explicit images of minors. This same line should be demarcated in terms of posting language about or images of women who may be underage or who are posing as underage girls on the Internet. Advocacy groups should call to question any image or advertisement that crosses that line and there should be similar legal and social implications for anyone who possesses or posts those images or perpetuates language focused on commercial sex with minors.

The ability to explicate clear indicators of sex trafficking is hampered by the underground and hidden nature of both sex trafficking and the commercial sex industry. However, the availability of data on the Internet affords academicians, practitioners, and law enforcement officials with an opportunity to identify, track, and utilize potential indicators. Once the true extent of sex trafficking is known, prevention and intervention that are based in sound evidence can be further implemented and expanded.

Conclusion

This study provides a glimpse into the online world of commercial sex and its potential connection with sex trafficking by examining linguistic indicators of commercial sexual exploitation, and by proxy sex trafficking. The scientific and systematic delineation of online indicators of commercial sexual exploitation can serve as a starting point for this discussion. The potential detrimental impact of online sex trafficking to vulnerable populations is readily apparent. More research is needed to firmly establish the presence of online indicators of sex trafficking. Once the indicators of sex trafficking are clearly expressed, there will be little room or tolerance for engaging in the ongoing debate about the extent of sex trafficking.

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Keren Roberts, RN, MSN, for her assistance with data collection and analysis.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research is funded in part by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Grant 5T06SM060559-03.

Author Biographies

Dawn Bounds, PhD, PMHNP-BC, is an assistant professor in the Department of Community, Systems and Mental Health Nursing at Rush University Medical Center’s College of Nursing. Her interests include research and integrative practice focused on the intersections of mental and sexual health disparities, vulnerability, and resilience. She is a SAMHSA ANA Minority Fellowship Program alumnus.

Kathleen R. Delaney, PhD, PMH-NP, is a professor at Rush College of Nursing and the program director of the Psychiatric-Mental Health (PMH) Nurse Practitioner program. She is also the project director for CMS-funded Graduate Nursing Education Demonstration project. In this role, she establishes models for NP training models particularly for the underserved. Kathy recently completed a Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) study that focused on building a tool (the Combined Assessment of Psychiatric Environments) that gauges the patient and staff experience on inpatient psychiatric units.

Wrenetha Julion, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN, is a professor and chairperson of the Department of Women, Children, and Family Nursing at Rush University College of Nursing. She conducts intervention research with vulnerable families of color and African American nonresident fathers. She is a 2012-2014 recipient of the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation Faculty Scholars Award.

Susan Breitenstein, PhD, RN, is an associate professor and associate chairperson of the Department of Community, Systems, and Mental Health Nursing at Rush University Medical Center’s College of Nursing. Her research foci include evidence-based parenting interventions, fatherhood interventions, and intervention fidelity.

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