Contrary to common stereotypes, a significant proportion of human traffickers are female. According to research: “Almost all of the youth said that they served male customers, and a majority said that they predominantly served white males between 25 and 55 years of age, with a preference for older, wealthy White males. Eleven percent of the girls and 40% of the boys said that they had served a female client, but only 13% of the boys said that they exclusively served female clients.” [1]. The same study also said that males are almost half of all sex trafficking victims: “The final sample of 249 youth was 48% female, 45% male, and 8% transgender; and the average age of entry into the market was 15.29 years.” [1].

Fourthmore, other papers say: “Worldwide, 38% of the suspected perpetrators of human trafficking are female. Women from Central Europe and East Asia are even twice as likely to be a suspect of human trafficking than men (68% versus 32%). Research by Van Dijk et al. into prostitution-related human trafficking in the Netherlands between 1997 and 2000, shows that a quarter of the perpetrators were female. A small part (14%) of this group of women were considered by the police as one of the leaders of the criminal organization. Staring reports that, in most cases, women are part of the criminal group. These figures demonstrate that the proportion of female perpetrators in human trafficking should not be underestimated. Despite these considerable numbers of female suspects, little research has been conducted into this phenomenon. Therefore, theoretical and empirical advancement in this area is nearly absent.” [2].

Some facts that are related to this: the most recent data says mothers are the majority of child abusers and murderers. [3]. We also know from other studies that female-only perpetrators of child sexual abuse is about 20.8%, and female with male perpetrators accounts for 18.3%, together that means women are involved in at least 39.1% of child sexual abuse, compared to men who encompasses 51.0%, while 9.9% are unknown. [4]. Despite societal expectations and stereotypes, these statistics show that women are not immune to committing acts of violence and abuse, including against children. So it’s not inconceivable that women could be guilty of child sex trafficking, especially given the data already presented.

While it is true that the majority number of child abusers and murderers are women, as well as a portion of child sexual abusers and traffickers, it is crucial to avoid stereotyping and assuming that all women are capable of committing such heinous crimes. Making such assumptions would be no better than the misandrists who generalize about men. The purpose of this post was to demonstrate that women aren’t exactly innocent when it comes to sex crimes against the youth, and that these crimes aren’t exactly “male-specific” crimes as some misandrists claim.

[1]. Curtis, Ric, et al. The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in New York City. September 2008. John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 2008.

[2]. Wijkman, M., Kleemans, E. Female offenders of human trafficking and sexual exploitation.Crime Law Soc Change 72, 53–72 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-019-09840-x

[3] Child Maltreatment 2022. Children’s Bureau (CB), 29 Jan. 2024.

[4]. Dube, Shanta & Anda, Robert & Whitfield, Charles & Brown, David & Felitti, Vincent & Dong, Maxia & Giles, Wayne. (2005). Long-Term Consequences of Childhood Sexual Abuse by Gender of Victim. American journal of preventive medicine. 28. 430-8. 10.1016/j.amepre.2005.01.015.