On Exiting from Commercial Sexual Exploitation: Insights from Sex Trade Experienced Persons

As a woman who exited after seven years in licensed commercial sexual exploitation in Canada, I share my reflections on my experience, which led to the development of the Insights from Sex Trade Experienced Persons (InSTEP) Model. The model was constructed based on interviews with “service providers” in the sex trade. Twelve exited women share their experiences inclusively. InSTEP is geared toward a population of quasi-autonomous providers who have alternate economic options. Three levels are introduced in the InSTEP model to describe the continuum of agency among service providers; Level 1: trafficked/controlled; Level 2: quasi-autonomous; Level 3: autonomous. The InSTEP Model focuses on Level 2 providers and identifies optimal times when helping professionals or agencies could be most effective in offering exit support. Opportunities for change are contextualized within Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (1943) and the Prochaska and DiClemente’s (1983) Stages of Change