Prostitution survivors emerged as leaders in the fight against the US youth sex trade in the 1990s, forming new social service organizations and connecting with the growing global movement against the commercial sexual exploitation of children. These activists deployed techniques developed in the 1970s women’s movement—speaking out about sexual abuse, connecting with other women who had similar experiences, and then organizing to challenge male abuse. Through sharing their own stories of exploitation and escape from prostitution, activists constructed individual and collective identities as survivors, which gave them credibility and authority on the issue of youth involvement in prostitution that enabled them to mobilize people to their cause. These activists also worked with the growing US movement against international sex trafficking to persuade Congress to pass the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000. These activists took advantage of the political opportunities offered by emerging international movements against commercial sexual exploitation of children and sex trafficking to reframe US youth involvement in the sex trade as a form of child sexual abuse.