<p>This study employs a content analysis of 607 court judgments to examine the roles, functions, and participation mechanisms of women in cross-border bride trafficking to China. The findings show that women are extensively involved across multiple stages of trafficking operations, underscoring their integral position within these illicit networks. In doing so, the study extends existing research on the indispensable role of women in certain illicit markets by demonstrating how gendered capacities and relational resources are actively mobilized within trafficking operations. Particular attention is devoted to the phenomenon of the “second wave of trafficking,” whereby former victims subsequently become perpetrators under conditions of structural constraint, economic vulnerability, and social marginalization. This dynamic not only challenges the entrenched “female victim–male culprit” paradigm but also illuminates the self-reproductive nature of bride trafficking networks, in which cycles of victimization and offending are intertwined. Finally, the study reveals that cross-border bride trafficking operations are deeply embedded within China’s matchmaking institution, which provides both cultural legitimacy and organizational camouflage for illicit activities. Within this institutional context, trafficking practices are normalized and obscured through socially sanctioned marital arrangements. Overall, this study advances a more nuanced understanding of bride trafficking by foregrounding the complex interplay between gendered roles, cultural practices, and illicit market organization, thereby contributing to broader theoretical debates on gendered participation in human trafficking.</p>