Cycling & Commercial Sexual Exploitation
Findings from “Sex Trafficking Vulnerabilities in Context: An analysis of 1,264 case files of adult survivors of commercial sexual exploitation”
Survivors of commercial sexual exploitation experience push and pull factors associated with exploitation that cycle throughout their lives. Sometimes we call it "relapse" or "recidivism."
But I want to advocate for the use of the term "cycling.”*
There are many reasons survivors might cycle into and out of exploitation. If a practitioner has spent any time working with survivors, they have witnessed it…
…and it is tough.
“Cycling” is a previously term used to describe the "on-again, off-again" nature of relationships and is frequently used in research on domestic violence. An example of cycling is the commonly cited statistic that it takes seven times for a victim to leave an abusive relationship. This statistic has been appropriated by advocates for victims of sexual exploitation as intimate partner violence is the most closely linked and broadly researched phenomenon similar to sexual exploitation. In the context of commercial sexual exploitation, cycling refers to repeated attempts of survivors to exit exploitation. In one unpublished manuscript, my colleague, Dr. Lauren Rhulmann, and I found that the number of times survivors attempted to exit — or successfully exited — exploitation ranged from 1 to 25 times, with an average of 2.58 times.
In my recent study, I wanted to begin to understand the cycling phenomenon better. I looked at predictors, such as educational achievement, childhood sexual abuse, age of entry, length of exploitation, mental health diagnoses, history of arrest, and number of children, to determine their effect on the number of times a survivor cycled in and out of care.
Factors such as higher educational achievement and a greater number of arrests were associated with lower rates of cycling, suggesting that these factors may provide some resilience against repeated exploitation. Individuals with bipolar disorder were 2.51 times more likely to experience cycling, while those with neurodevelopmental disorders were 1.73 times more likely. Survivors who reported a diagnosis of schizophrenia were 3.323 times more likely to experience cycling. Vulnerability for exploitation and reexploitation for individuals with such diagnoses will carry throughout the individuals’ lives, especially for those who do not have a built-in support system, like family. These findings highlight the need for robust, long-term, community-based mental health support.
One of the limitations of the study is that the measure for cycling was only based on the number of entries into a specific safe home program, which may not fully capture the true extent of survivors' attempts to exit exploitation. Even so, I decided to include the analysis so that we could at least begin a conversation about the cycling phenomenon. The shame and stigma associated with cycling is a barrier to services for many survivors. However, if we can normalize the phenomenon, we can begin to take steps to better understand the push and pull factors and ultimately disrupt the cycling phenomenon, improving outcomes for survivors.
*The use of the terms “cycling,“ “entry,” and “exit” are meant to be neutral terms acknowledging the reality of victimization without diminishing the agency of survivors.
Reference
Furlong, C., & Hinnant, B. (2024). Sex trafficking vulnerabilities in context: An analysis of 1,264 case files of adult survivors of commercial sexual exploitation. PLOS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0311131
