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The Forgotten Victims: Elderly Adults Are Being Trafficked Too

By Sheri Lopez

When most people hear the words human trafficking, they think about children or teenagers. And believe me, protecting children is incredibly important. But there is another group of people we rarely talk about, and that's older adults.

The truth is that people don't age out of vulnerability.

As a survivor of human trafficking in my teens, I've spent years speaking about trafficking, and one thing I've learned is that traffickers don't care how old someone is. They look for vulnerability and opportunity. And unfortunately, many elderly adults have vulnerabilities that can make them targets.

According to the United Nations, human trafficking affects people of all ages, and data from the Counter-Trafficking Data Collaborative actually shows that most identified trafficking victims worldwide are adults.

Yet somehow, when we have conversations about trafficking, seniors are often left out, and I think that's a mistake.

As we age, many people become more dependent on others. Some struggle with physical health problems. Some have memory issues or dementia. Others live alone and become isolated. Some depend on caregivers. Others may have limited finances or no family support, and those vulnerabilities can be exploited.

In fact, researchers are now talking about something called "benefits trafficking." This is when someone targets elderly or disabled adults because they receive Social Security, Veterans benefits, Medicare, Medicaid, or other forms of assistance.

These offenders may present themselves as helpers or caregivers. They move into a person's life, gain trust, and slowly take control. In some cases, victims are isolated, neglected, moved from place to place, denied proper care, and stripped of their benefits while someone else profits from them, and that should concern all of us.

Human trafficking involving older adults doesn't always look the way people imagine.

In some cases, older adults are forced to work or provide services for little or no pay. In others, they may be living in situations where someone has taken complete control over their daily lives, creating a form of domestic servitude. Financial exploitation is also common, with offenders manipulating or stealing Social Security checks, pensions, or other benefits.

And while it's something many people are uncomfortable discussing, older adults can also be sexually exploited. The reality is that vulnerability does not disappear with age, and neither does the potential for someone to take advantage of it.

Exploitation often hides behind what appears normal, which is one reason older victims are so frequently overlooked. People may assume an older person is simply confused, or that they're dependent on a caregiver because of age, or that they would speak up if something was wrong. But it's not always that simple.

Many elderly victims are afraid. They're afraid of losing their housing. They're afraid of being placed in a nursing facility. They're afraid of being alone, and some are embarrassed.

Some don't recognize that what is happening to them is exploitation, and some have no one left to advocate for them.

There are some warning signs people should pay attention to. Maybe an older adult seems fearful of a caregiver. Maybe they suddenly become isolated from friends and family.

Perhaps they have poor hygiene, unexplained weight loss, untreated medical conditions, or missing medications. Maybe someone else always speaks for them and never allows them to be alone.

No one sign proves trafficking or exploitation, but patterns matter.

As a survivor, I can tell you that traffickers look for opportunities. They look for people they believe no one is paying attention to, and sadly, elderly adults can fall into that category.

I think it's time we broaden the conversation because human trafficking isn't just a crime against children. It's a crime against vulnerability, and vulnerability doesn't disappear when someone turns 65, 75, or even 85 years old.

Older adults deserve dignity. They deserve protection. They deserve to be seen, because no one is ever too old to be exploited, and no one is ever too old to deserve safety.

If we truly want to protect the vulnerable, then we cannot forget our aging population.

They matter, and they deserve to be part of the conversation.

Author

Sheri Lopez is a human trafficking survivor, author, and founder of Pearl at the Mailbox, a survivor-led nonprofit dedicated to prevention, education, advocacy, and legislative change. She is also the founder of the National Grooming Prevention Hotline and serves as President of the Arizona Human Trafficking Survivor Coalition. Through her writing, training, and public speaking, Sheri works to increase awareness of grooming, exploitation, and human trafficking while helping communities better understand and respond to vulnerability across the lifespan.

Permission is granted to share this article in its entirety for educational and non-commercial purposes, provided it is not altered and full credit is given to Sheri Lopez and Pearl at the Mailbox. www.pearlatthemailbox.org www.azhtsurvivorcoalition.org