Researchers, practitioners and policy makers have noted the disproportionate number of young women with backgrounds of local authority care who involved in commercial sex. However, the lack of knowledge about why this occurs means that there is little evidence with which to develop interventions. This article describes research that explored young women's routes into the sex industry from local authority care using a feminist participatory action approach. The women's life- story narratives demonstrate that they psycho- social legacies of their care experiences- how they defined themselves and placed themselves in the world- were instrumental in their entry into selling sex. From these themes, a framework for understanding young women's paths from living in/ leaving care to selling sex. The article includes discussion of the implications for social work practice with vulnerable young women and recommendations for interventions.