2026-04-14T08:45:40Zhttps://recercat.cat/oai/request

oai:recercat.cat:10459.1/4690532025-11-17T19:39:53Zcom_2072_3622col_2072_479130

Revealing victimization and sexual exploitation through content analysis of online sexual service ads in Spain: a mixed-methods study Tamarit Sumalla, Josep M. (Josep Maria) Balcells, Marc Romero-Sesena, Pablo Gretenkort, Tobias Sexual exploitation Victimization Risk factors Victimization in the context of paid sexual services encompasses forced prostitution, exploitation of minors, and individuals with neurodiversity, often tied to human trafficking or other illicit practices. This association notwithstanding, evidence suggests a significant risk of victimization for providers of paid sexual services even in non-exploitative scenarios. Online advertisements provide a plethora of unstructured data on this phenomenon, commonly used by law enforcement for intelligence. Yet, empirical evidence on the association of ad content with victimization risk factors is still scarce. This paper aims to analyse the content of pair sexual contact ads on various internet platforms in Spain to understand supply characteristics and detect risks. Combining quantitative and qualitative methods, the study examines ad content for indicators of sexual exploitation and victimization risk. These data are triangulated with data from two focus groups comprising both providers of paid sexual services and relevant professionals. The findings confirm some convergence of victimization and sexual exploitation risk factors in online paid sex ads and underscore the practical implications for law enforcement and prevention and care professionals to prevent victimization. The study is part of the research project Victimization of people involved in paid sex: risk factors, consequences and response, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (PID 2023-151355NB-I00). 2025-11-17T19:39:53Z 2025-11-17T19:39:53Z 2025-11-17T19:39:53Z 2025 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion http://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/469053 info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/AEI/Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2021-2023/PID2023-151355NB-I00/ES/ Reproducció del document publicat a https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlcj.2025.100792 International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, 2025, vol. 83, 100792 cc-by-nc-nd (c) Josep Maria Tamarit-Sumalla et al., 2025 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Elsevier