What is sex trafficking? Sex trafficking occurs when a person is induced to perform a commercial sex act through force, fraud or coercion. If the person induced to perform the sex act is under the age of 18, this is considered sex trafficking - regardless of force, fraud or coercion - according to U.S. federal law. What is a commercial sex act? This refers to an item of value (food, shelter, money, etc.) traded for any sexual service (pornography, prostitution or sexual performance). The young girls we take in at StreetLightUSA often fall under the specific category of domestic minor sex trafficking: commercial sexual exploitation of American children within U.S. borders for an item of value. Other terms used synonymously with child sex trafficking: child sex slavery, prostitution of children, and commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC).