Williamson County Children’s Advocacy (WCCAC) provides hope, healing and justice for children and families impacted by abuse, violence, and exploitation in our community.
Child sex trafficking is a form of child abuse that occurs when a child under 18 is advertised, solicited, or exploited through a commercial sex act. A commercial sex act is any sex act where something of value – such as money, food, drugs, or a place to stay – is given to or received by any person for sexual activity.
While any child can be targeted by a trafficker, research, data, and survivor lived experience and expertise have revealed traffickers and buyers often target youth who lack strong support networks, have experienced violence in the past, are experiencing homelessness, or are marginalized by society. When youth feel like they are not loved, supported in their identity and voice, or like they don’t belong they become ever more vulnerable to unsafe situations. Traffickers are masters of manipulation and prey upon vulnerabilities using psychological pressure, false promises actions of perceived love/support and intimidation to control and sexually exploit the child for their benefit.
