Women filmed for pornography report extensive abuse and serious health consequences, yet pathways into pornography remain under-examined. Using an embedded qualitative mixed-methods approach, we explored factors shaping these pathways in Sweden. Twenty-five adults (23 women) who had been filmed for pornography completed questionnaires and participated in teller-focused interviews. Informed by a socio-ecological framework, our reflexive thematic analysis generated the global theme Primed for exploitation, comprising three themes: Imprints of early violence, No one has my back: Relational and institutional betrayals, and Compounding structural vulnerabilities. Our findings reveal how childhood abuse and violence, relational and institutional betrayals, material precarity, and a pornified cultural landscape converge to shape pathways into pornography. To prevent and disrupt these pathways, early identification of sexual abuse, timely access to trauma-informed care that avoids individualizing and pathologizing the consequences of violence, and practical support that addresses material precarity are critical. From a socio-ecological perspective, framing entry into pornography as a simple matter of choice is fundamentally flawed: it individualizes deeply social processes and obscures the profound impact of cumulative violence, repeated relational and institutional betrayals, and intersecting structural constraints.

Meghan Donevan is employed at Talita, Sweden. The authors declare no other potential conflicts of interest.

This work was supported by the Swedish Government Inquiry on the Protection, Support and Care of Individuals Subjected to Abuse in the Production or Distribution of Pornography (Dir. 2022:100). Meghan Donevan gratefully acknowledges financial support from Majblomman and Stiftelsen Solstickan.

I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.

Yes

The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:

Ethical approval was granted by the Swedish Ethical Review Authority (reference number 2022-06718-01)

I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals.

Yes

I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance).

Yes

I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable.

Yes

The data are not publicly available due to the sensitive nature of the study and the risk of participant identification. Access to the data is restricted in accordance with ethical approval and data protection regulations.