In this paper, we explore third parties who unexpectedly fell within the legal definition of a sex trafficker. The anti-trafficking lobby and media stories frequently portray traffickers as organised, psychopathic, violent, and child kidnappers. We dismantle these depictions by showing the unexpected people who qualify as traffickers. This paper incorporates findings from two studies involving eighty-five third parties in New York City and forty-nine in Chicago. We analyse how teenagers, drivers, and boyfriends qualify as traffickers under US law. We find that two-thirds of them hold inaccurate views about the difference between sex trafficking and facilitating prostitution. Trafficking can be incidental or temporary, and traffickers in these samples were often oblivious to their legal status, potentially resulting in lengthy prison sentences. We conclude by calling for differential sentencing based on traffickers’ age, and awareness campaigns designed to alert third parties of the legal distinctions between pandering and sex trafficking.

中文翻译：

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不经意的“性贩运者”：挑战刻板印象和美国贩运法的公平性

在本文中，我们探讨了意外落入性贩运者法律定义的第三方。反贩运游说团体和媒体报道经常将贩运者描绘成有组织的、精神病态的、暴力的和儿童绑架者。我们通过展示有资格成为贩运者的意想不到的人来消除这些描述。本文结合了两项研究的结果，该研究涉及纽约市的 85 个第三方和芝加哥的 49 个第三方。我们分析了青少年、司机和男朋友在美国法律下如何成为人贩子。我们发现，三分之二的人对性交易和促进卖淫之间的区别持有不准确的看法。贩运可能是偶然的，也可能是暂时的，这些样本中的贩运者通常不知道他们的法律地位，可能导致长期监禁。