International Women’s Day 2025 Remarks
These remarks were prepared by Courtney Furlong and delivered at the Power in Progress: From Action to Impact seminar held on March 6, 2025 at Auburn University.
2025 International Women’s Day Seminar Flier
My name is Courtney Furlong, and I am a PhD candidate in Human Development and Family Science here at Auburn. I have spent over 20 years working with survivors of commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking from around the world. During my time with survivors, I have heard about some of the most egregious human rights violations perpetrated against women. I’d like to go ahead and give a trigger warning and apologize that I’m going to talk very quickly.
Commercial sexual exploitation occurs when anything of value is given in exchange for a sex act. Anything of value can include money, food, clothing, drugs, and other things. A sex act can include prostitution, exotic dancing, escorting, webcamming — some sex acts are legal, and others are illegal. Sex trafficking is a complex and multifaceted phenomena that involves the commercial sexual exploitation of an individual by means of force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person who is induced to perform such an act has not obtained 18 years of age (22 U.S.C. §§ 7102). In my dissertation survey of 350 individuals who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation, 94% of them meet the US federal definition of sex trafficking victimization. The average age of entry into exploitation was 15 years old, with 70% entering exploitation before the age of 18 (Furlong, 2025).
Commercial sexual exploitation may include experiencing rape, assault, sexually transmitted illnesses, mental health disorders, and murder (Farley, 2004; Potterat et al., 2004; Yuan, 2006). Negative health outcomes for individuals who have experienced sex trafficking result from physical violence, psychological disorders due to trauma, addiction, unsafe and violent sex acts, unsanitary living/working conditions, and restrictions in access to healthcare (Gajic-Veljanoski & Stewart, 2005). Whereas the mortality rate for women in the United States is 1.9, Potterat et al. (2004) found that women in prostitution in the United States have a mortality rate of 5.9. They also found that women in prostitution are 18 times more likely to be murdered than women in the United States who are not in prostitution. Murder was the leading cause of death for women in prostitution, followed by accidents related to drugs and alcohol and HIV/AIDS.
From my dissertation survey, 76% met the diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Comparatively, the rate of PTSD for the general American public is approximately 6.8% (Gradus, 2013). Male veterans of the Gulf War reported a rate of PTSD of 15.1%, and Vietnam War Veterans reported a rate of 30.9%.
When we talk about ending human trafficking, we must first identify and address vulnerabilities that lead to exploitation — vulnerabilities like poverty, childhood sexual abuse, low educational achievement, mental health disorders, the criminalization of the selling of sex, single parenthood, and issues in the foster care system.
Interview with Eagle Eye TV
In my study of 1,264 survivors of commercial sexual exploitation, 71% report experiencing childhood sexual abuse (Furlong & Hinnant, 2024b). Childhood sexual abuse was linked to early ages of entry into exploitation.
Low educational achievement was also linked to earlier ages of entry, as well as longer experiences of exploitation, higher numbers of arrests, and higher numbers of children (Furlong & Hinnant, 2024b). The United States Census Bureau (2022) reports that 8.9% of the general public have less than a high school diploma or equivalent. 38% of the 1,264 individuals in my study did not have a high school diploma or GED (Furlong & Hinnant, 2024b).
In that same study, 80% reported a serious mental health disorder (Furlong & Hinnant, 2024b). Bipolar disorder in the general US population is estimated to be around 4%. My study found that 38% had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Similarly, 1% of the general US population report a diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum disorder. In my study, 13% report a diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum disorder. Individuals with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia spectrum disorder, and neurodevelopmental disorders were more likely to cycle in and out of exploitation across a lifespan and have poorer placement outcomes.
Of the 1,264 adult survivors of commercial sexual exploitation, 91% of them have a history of arrest, and the average number of arrests per survivor was 9.5 (Furlong & Hinnant, 2024b). A history of arrest was linked to longer experiences of exploitation.
My dissertation survey found that 44% of victims of commercial sexual exploitation have lost custody of their children. Of those who had children, 36% reported fear of losing custody of their children as a primary reason for not accessing support services (Furlong, 2025). Having children increases vulnerability for commercial sexual exploitation, and it was linked to longer experiences of exploitation (Furlong & Hinnant, 2024b).
In another study I conducted of nearly 900 confirmed minor victims of commercial sexual exploitation, two-thirds of them have been placed into foster care at some point, and the average number of out of home placements is three-and-a-half (Furlong & Hinnant, 2024a).
These are more than just numbers. These are my friends, my colleagues, and my mentors. They don’t come from other countries. Every single one of these individuals live in the United States. None of us is immune from violence or threat of violence. The World Health Organization (2014) states that 1 in 3 women will experience domestic violence in their lifetimes. And while these issues seem big and complex, the solutions are quite simple:
Universal healthcare,
Access to contraceptives,
Paid maternity leave,
Access to, and improvements in, the educational system, promoting literacy and financial literacy,
Affordable childcare and transportation,
Foster care reform,
Community-based mental health support across a lifespan,
Access to healthy food,
Decriminalization of the selling of sex and criminalization of the buying of sex,
Expungement of records and vacatur of convictions, and
Equal pay (Aizer, 2011; Anderberg et al., 2016; Furlong, 2022a, 2022b; Furlong & Hinnant, 2024b; Henke & Hsu, 2020; Munyo & Rossi, 2015; Perova et al., 2021).
We need people at all levels of industry and government to make necessary changes to decrease vulnerability. In doing so, together, we can create a safer world for women. Thank you so much for your time and attention, and I look forward to your questions. War Eagle!
References
Aizer, A. (2010). The gender wage gap and domestic violence. American Economic Review, 100(4), 1847-59. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.100.4.1847
Anderberg, D., Rainer, H., Wadsworth, J., & Wilson, T. (2016). Unemployment and domestic violence: Theory and evidence. The Economic Journal, 126(597), 1947-1979. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecoj.12246
Farley, M., Cotton, A., Lynne, J., Zumbeck, S., Spiwak, F., Reyes, M.E., Alvarez, D., & Sezgin, U. (2004). Prostitution and trafficking in nine countries. Journal of Trauma Practice, 2(3–4), 33–74. https://doi.org/10.1300/J189v02n03_03.
Furlong, C. (2022a, September 19). Prostitution &: Resilience. CourtneyFurlong.com. https://www.courtneyfurlong.com/blog/prostitution-and-resilience
Furlong, C. (2025). Sex trafficking indicators and survivor outcomes [Manuscript in preparation]. Department of Human Development and Family Science, Auburn University.
Furlong, C. (2022b, April 29). The gender(ed) wage gap & intimate partner violence. CourtneyFurlong.com. https://www.courtneyfurlong.com/blog/genered-wage-gap
Furlong, C., & Hinnant, B. (2024a). Examining the intersections of family risk, foster care, and outcomes for commercially sexually exploited children. Social Sciences, 13(12), 660. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13120660
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, 19(11), e0311131. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0311131
Gajic-Veljanoski, O., & Stewart, D. E. (2007). Women trafficking into prostitution: Determinants, human rights, and health needs. Transcultural Psychiatry, 44(3), 338-358. https://doi.org/10.1177/1363461507081635
Gradus, J. L. (2013). Epidemiology of PTSD. National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Department of Veterans Affairs. https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/coe/cih-visn2/Documents/Provider_Education_Handouts/Epidemiology_of_PTSD_Version_3.pdf
Henke, A., & Hsu, L. C. (2020). The gender wage gap, weather, and intimate partner violence. Review of Economics of the Household, 18(2), 413-429. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11150-020-09483-
Munyo, I., & Rossi, M. (2015). Real Exchange Rate, the Wage Gender Gap and Domestic Violence. Unpublished manuscript.
Perova, E., Reynolds, S., & Schmutte, I. (2021). Does the Gender Wage Gap Influence Intimate Partner Violence in Brazil? Evidence from Administrative Health Data. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/35569
Potterat, J. J., Brewer, D. D., Muth, S. Q., Rothenberg, R. B., Woodhouse, D. E., Muth, J. B., & Brody, S. (2004). Mortality in a long-term open cohort of prostitute women. American Journal of Epidemiology, 159(8), 778-785. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwh110
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, 22 U.S.C. §§ 7101–7113 (2000).
United States Census Bureau. (2022). Census bureau releases new educational attainment data. https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2022/educational-attainment.html#:~:text=In%202021%2C%2029.4%25%20of%20men,women%20and%2046.9%25%20were%20men.
World Health Organization [WHO]. (2014). Global status report on violence prevention 2014. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241564793
Yuan, N. P., Koss, M. P., & Stone, M. (2006). The psychological consequences of sexual trauma. http://vawnet.org/material/psychological-consequences-sexual-trauma
