This paper presents research that analysed data regarding offenders convicted for trafficking offences in the United Kingdom. The paper identifies three themes relating to women’s involvement in trafficking activity. First, women perform lower level roles in trafficking that render them more susceptible to detection. Second, previous experiences of victimization have often provided pathways into offending for these women. Third, convicted female traffickers are frequently involved in intimate relationships with male traffickers. A more responsive approach to female traffickers, it is argued, would acknowledge the role of previous victimization, show greater understanding of the power dynamics between co-defendants and would need to be supported by policy conversant of the intersections between economic and sexual exploitation, gender inequality and global inequalities.