LGBTQIA+ young people at greater risk for human trafficking

Human trafficking occurs when a predator uses force, fraud or coercion to prey on someone else – someone with unmet needs. Anyone can be targeted and find themselves caught up in trafficking, but there are individuals who face greater risk. Among them: immigrants, individuals who are unhoused, people who struggle with addiction or mental health concerns, or those who have experienced abuse or been part of the foster care system.

And the impact is amplified – the risk even greater – for LGBTQIA+, transgender and BIPOC people, as the systemic forces of prejudice, homophobia and racism further erode the social supports and access to resources that people need to stay safe.

Homelessness and housing instability are key reasons why LGBTQIA+ youth in particular are more vulnerable to human trafficking. When they come out, some teenagers get kicked out of the house or are made to feel unwelcome, encountering homophobia or hostility from their families, in their communities, or at school. Some run away from home when staying becomes too painful. Their honesty about identity can carry a real cost, forcing them onto the streets.

“Young people whose community has turned their back on them because of their gender or sexual identities are at particular risk because traffickers prey on their very real economic needs and on their need for a sense of community and belonging,” the nonprofit group Polaris, which operates the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline, stated on its website in a June Pride Month post providing resources regarding LGBTQ youth and human trafficking.

Here are some of the numbers:

• Nationally, it’s estimated there are 1.6 million to 2.8 million homeless youth – and roughly 20% to 40% of them are gay or transgender, according to the Center for American Progress, a nonpartisan policy institute. In New York, the average age for a gay or lesbian youth to become homeless was 14.4 years; even younger (at 13.5 years) for transgender teens, the institute reports.
• According to the Trevor Project, a crisis and advocacy group, 28% of LGBTQ youth report experiencing homelessness or housing instability at some point in their lives.
• Gay and lesbian young people who are homeless or housing unstable are more likely to attempt suicide, experience depression or anxiety, or abuse drugs or alcohol than those with stable housing.
• A July 2015 survey of 215 homeless young adults, ages 18 to 25, in Phoenix and Tucson in Arizona found that over a third of the sample reported being sex-trafficked, and of those, more than half were LGBTQIA+. The survey found that group also reported “higher rates of challenging life experiences, including suicide attempts, drug use, risk taking and being raped between ages 13-17, compared with sex trafficked heterosexual homeless young adults.”
• The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says research studies have found that 19% to 40% of young people experiencing homelessness have also been victims of sex-trafficking. If the statistic were one in five – the low end of the range – that equates to 800,000 young people a year.

“Systemic inequities and injustice in communities and families put certain young people in more vulnerable positions than other youth,” the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children states on its website. Among those at greater risk: BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ youth, and those with experience in the foster care system.

The Ohio Domestic Violence Network (ODVN) recently received funding from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine through the Ohio Department of Public Safety and Office of Criminal Justice Services to provide and enhance services to human trafficking survivors. These efforts align with the  Human Trafficking Initiative created by Attorney General Dave Yost, so that Ohio can better serve human trafficking survivors across the state.

It’s likely domestic violence shelters across Ohio already have been serving human trafficking survivors without necessarily realizing it, as some survivors may describe their experiences as domestic violence or sexual assault rather than calling it trafficking. Now, 32 ODVN member programs are using the new funding to respond specifically to the needs of human trafficking survivors.

Human trafficking includes both forced labor – people forced to work for little or no pay in farm fields, restaurants, hotels, in domestic work and more – and those forced into commercial sex work. The National Sexual Violence Resource Center says 1 in 3 runaways has been forced to perform a sexual act against their will, and more than 1 in 3 homeless youth engage in survival sex – trading sex for money, food, shelter or drugs.

Poverty increases vulnerability and housing insecurity.  The National Alliance to End Homelessness reportsthat Blacks represent 13% of the U.S. population, but 37% of those experiencing homelessness. Among the systemic forces feeding into those disparities: housing discrimination, unequal educational opportunities and incarceration rates, uneven access to health care.

Sometimes LGBTQIA+ and transgender people find themselves at risk and in transit because they are fleeing discrimination or threats of violence because of their gender or sexual identity. Internationally, It’s still illegal to be LGBTQ in at least 60 of the member United Nations states, many of them in Africa and the Middle East.

The 2022 U.S. Transgender Survey found that nearly half of the transgender respondents (47%) said they had considered moving to another state because their state was considering or had passed laws targeting transgender people. And 62% said they were “very uncomfortable” or “somewhat uncomfortable” asking for help from the police if they needed it, because of their gender identity or expression.

All this adds up to the risk of exploitation for someone with unmet needs. When we think about someone who is unhoused or housing insecure, hungry, low on funds, cut off from family and community, or facing discrimination, we begin to see how easy it could be for a trafficker to find a way into that person’s life, pretending to “save them.” Traffickers are looking for you to have a need that isn’t being met, so they can meet that need, gain control, and have power over you. ODVN can help provide resources and support to keep you safe.