“Got Sold a Dream and It Turned into a Nightmare”: The Victim-Offender Overlap in Commercial Sexual Exploitation

Author: Henderson, Angie & Rhodes, Shea

Abstract: Typically characterized by a patriarchal structure, domestic pimp-controlled sex trafficking in the United States often situates a male trafficker at the top of the organization, with a female “bottom girl” as second-in-command. This victim occupies the position of victim-offender, where she is simultaneously being victimized by a trafficker while also forced to commit trafficking offenses against others in the operation. Legal scholars and practitioners have debated whether or not the responsibilities of this role are more victim or offender. To date, the modest research dedicated to understanding the victim-offender overlap in sex trafficking has relied solely on data from those involved in the criminal justice system. The present study broadens the scope of this area of work by including a community-based sample of adult women who self-identify as having filled the role of a bottom girl (N = 17) in pimp-controlled, familial, and illicit massage parlor sex trafficking in the U.S. In-depth interviews provide the first empirical definition of a “bottom girl,” including their roles and responsibilities. Results also provide insight into the costs of surviving abusive traffickers, providing context for criminal justice practitioners regarding the complexities of being simultaneously victim and offender in a sex trafficking operation.

Keywords: commercial sexual exploitation, sex trafficking, bottoms, victim-offender overlap, domestic sex trafficking