1. D O M E S T I C V I O L E N C E I S S U E S A N D I D E AS B LO G
H O M E A B O U T U S A B O U T D O M E S T I C V I O L E N C E R E S O U R C E S
N E W S & E V E N T S B LO G C O N TAC T U S
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ISSUES & IDEAS
BLOG
October 26, 2016
Myths and Realities of Domestic Violence: Sexual Exploitation and
Trafficking
By: Courtney Sharma, Communications Coordinator, Servants Anonymous
Society of Calgary
According to the Polaris Project, sex trafficking is defined as “a form of modern
slavery that exists […] globally. Sex traffickers use violence, threats, lies, debt bondage,
and other forms of coercion to compel adults and children to engage in commercial
sex acts against their will.” The lack of understanding that domestic violence is

2. imbedded in the complexity of sex trafficking can hinder a survivor’s efforts to find
help.
Not only is domestic violence rampant among sex trafficking situations, the tactics of
sex traffickers to control their victims are eerily similar to those applied to victims of
domestic violence. Traffickers retain victims in exploitative situations by ways of
social isolation, forcible confinement, withholding identification documents, imposing
strict rules, limitation of movement, as well as threats and violence to victims and
their families.
According to a participant of Servant’s Anonymous Society (SAS), a collaborative
member of the Calgary Domestic Violence Collective’, “In one instance, my pimp
wanted to rent a new apartment, and wanted me to buy us a very expensive couch to
go with it. I did what I had to do to make ends meet. I eventually started recruiting
women when my pimp would ask. However, after a month’s rent and a damage
deposit, there was not enough money left for our new couch. This upset him to the
point where he beat me up so badly, I didn’t recognize myself in the mirror.”
Nonphysical tactics used by sex traffickers can be just as harmful. Many believe sex
trafficking is synonymous with prostitution, implying the willful choice of a woman to
sell sex. However, the reality is many victims are groomed, manipulated, and coerced
to enter the sex trade by promises of love and understanding. Another SAS
participant recalled, “My first pimp trafficked me from the east coast to western
Canada. Many times I wanted to leave, but I was brainwashed into believing I had
nowhere to go.” It can be extremely dangerous for a victim in attempting to leave.
Another past SAS Participant knows this firsthand: “I saw the opportunity to run away
from my pimp and left, only to be kidnapped by him. I was then locked in a hotel
room, unable to leave and working as much as he forced me to.”
Sex trafficking survivors are well acquainted with the cycle of violence, meaning the
pattern of abuse that escalates over time, similar to other domestic violence
relationships. “After he turned extremely physically abusive, I finally found the
courage to leave him,” said a Past Participant of SAS of her first of what would turn
into a number of pimps. “From that point on, I learned to always keep enough money
to leave whichever pimp I was with at the time. However, working for a new pimp

3. always ended in the same way: being abused so severely that I would finally leave, only
to repeat the cycle with someone new.”
The transgenerational nature of domestic violence and sex trafficking alike is
incredibly difficult to exit. Traumas early in life follow victims for years until they are
able to break the cycle; a cycle passed onto them by family members who were abuse
victims themselves. “As a child, I was sexually abused by my stepfather,” said a past
participant of SAS. “This was the catalyst for my being drawn to older men, one in
particular who eventually forced me to sell sex.”
Many assume that the typical sex trafficking survivor is poor and a visible minority. On
the contrary, the RCMP stated in its report, ‘Domestic Human Trafficking for Sexual
Exploitation in Canada’ (2013) that survivors are typically Caucasian and increasingly
people from stable backgrounds. Furthermore, as with domestic violence, anyone can
become a victim of sex trafficking. K.J. Wilson, author of ‘When Violence Begins At
Home,’ stated the truth of the matter well: “If anything is truly equal opportunity, it is
battering. Domestic violence crosses all socioeconomic, ethnic, racial, educational,
age and religious lines.”
C O N TAC T U S FAQ M E D I A L AT E S T N E W S S U B S C R I B E
Copyright 2016 CDVC. All Rights Reserved.