human trafficking research proposal questions

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Human Trafficking Research Questions

In my two CI blogs I have written thus far, I have focused mainly on: what some non-profit organizations are currently doing in the United States to fight trafficking and the programs the government has been implementing to combat human trafficking. I have also provided a little background on human trafficking in the United States, but I plan on delving deeper into the history of trafficking in the US so that I can better inform you all about the extent of this heinous crime.

There is a load of information about human trafficking that I would love to share with you all and I am going to try to fit as much information into my last four blogs as I possibly can. Other topics I definitely want to discuss include:

-Individual cases of human trafficking in the United States so that I can emphasize the fact that trafficking can really happen to anyone. I would also like to touch on why people in the United States are so unaware of trafficking going on around them.

-Trafficking globally. Even though human trafficking is a growing problem in the United States, it is a much bigger problem in countries like India and Africa. In order to inform you about human trafficking to the fullest extent, it’s obviously necessary that I discuss trafficking globally.

-My thoughts on what else needs to be done in order to reach Obama’s and many other’s goal to eliminate trafficking.

-I would also like to share exactly how we can get involved in the fight against trafficking.

So, now to the point of this blog, my 3 potential research questions that I would like to answer by the end of this blog are:

1.) How are foreign countries fighting trafficking and what tactics have proven to be most effective? What tactics in the United States have proven to be most successful?

2.)How can the United States help combat trafficking globally? In addition to fighting it on our home turf, what will be the most effective way for us to help other countries end trafficking?

3.) What else can be done to expedite the eradication of human trafficking and how can everyday people play a part in combatting trafficking?

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Human Trafficking Policy and Research Analyses Project

Informing the development of anti-trafficking strategies, policies, and programs to prevent and respond to human trafficking.

Human trafficking casts a wide net of harm to affected individuals, families, and communities. It is increasingly understood that addressing human trafficking requires a multifaceted and multidisciplinary approach. Many questions remain as to the most effective ways to respond to human trafficking and protect communities at increased risk of human trafficking exploitation. Questions around effective strategies to prevent and respond to human trafficking guide this project, in partnership with the Administration for Children and Families’ (ACF) Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) and the Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP). The Human Trafficking Policy and Research Analyses Project advances the scope of knowledge and data around human trafficking by identifying priority areas for learning, and conducting a series of studies that can immediately impact practice. The RTI team has collaborated closely with OPRE and OTIP to identify five diverse projects:

Field test of two sampling methods to measure the prevalence of labor trafficking within the construction industry —This study will survey construction workers to learn about labor trafficking and labor exploitation experiences among individuals who work in construction. The goal of this study is to advance knowledge of promising methods for estimating human trafficking prevalence by comparing the estimates generated from two different sampling methods: convenience sampling (time-location sampling) and respondent-driven sampling.
Process evaluation of the Human Trafficking Youth Prevention Education (HTYPE) Demonstration Grant Program —This cross-site evaluation will describe the activities, challenges, and accomplishments of eight education agencies funded to partner with a nonprofit or NGO to build the capacity of schools to provide human trafficking prevention education for educators and other staff, and students, and establish a Human Trafficking School Safety Protocol that addresses the safety, security, and well-being of staff and students.
Formative evaluation of the Demonstration Grants to Strengthen the Response to Victims of Human Trafficking in Native Communities —This cross-site, participatory and culturally-responsive evaluation will describe the activities, challenges, and accomplishments of projects funded to build, expand, and sustain organizational and local capacity to provide direct services, assistance, and referrals to Native Americans (i.e., American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and/or Pacific Islanders) who have experienced human trafficking. This evaluation is conducted in partnership with American Indian Development Associates (AIDA).
Creation of a Learning Agenda for OTIP —This activity, conducted in close partnership with OTIP, focuses on identifying knowledge gaps and developing and refining learning questions—ultimately leading to a learning agenda and action plan for OTIP. The goal of the learning agenda is to provide an actionable set of activities to answer questions that advance and are in direct alignment with OTIP’s mission and purpose.

Assessing the Current State of Economic Empowerment Programs for Victims of Human Trafficking – As part of the OTIP’s efforts to carry out E.O. 13985 ( Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government ), this project will focus on economic opportunity and empowerment for people who have experienced human trafficking. Guided by a participatory approach, this project involves an environmental scan and listening sessions with both individuals who have experienced human trafficking and the professionals who provide services to this population. The objective of this project is to compile a resource about promising practices related to economic opportunity programming for use by professionals who provide services to people who have experienced human trafficking.

Administration for Children and Families (ACF)

human trafficking research proposal questions

Child Well-Being and Family Strengthening
Public Health and Well-Being
Community Safety, Crime Prevention, and Victimization Response
Human Trafficking Research, Evaluation, & Training and Technical Assistance
Survey Statistics
Survey Design
Instrument Development
Survey Methodologies
Data Collection
Evaluation Design and Execution
Evidence Synthesis for Policy and Practice
Evaluation, Monitoring, and Assessment

Comprehensive Review of Prior Prevalence Studies and Recommendations for Field Testing in the United States

Advances in measurement: a scoping review of prior human trafficking prevalence studies and recommendations for future research, human trafficking youth prevention education (htype) demonstration program: year 1 reflections, human trafficking youth prevention education (htype) demonstration program: year 2 reflections, learning agenda: administration for children and families' office on trafficking in persons, vht-nc program: an overview of participant & service characteristics (fy2021-fy2022), demonstration grants to strengthen the response to victims of human trafficking in native communities (vht-nc) program: interim report, htprap economic empowerment guide for service providers, htprap economic empowerment appendix - programs identified in environmental scan, htprap economic empowerment infographic.

Innovations in empirical research into human trafficking: introduction to the special edition

Published: 25 July 2019
Volume 72 , pages 1–7, ( 2019 )

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Ella Cockbain 1 &
Edward R. Kleemans 2

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When it comes to human trafficking, hype often outweighs evidence. All too often, the discourse on trafficking – increasingly absorbed under discussions of so-called ‘modern slavery’ too – is dominated by simplistic treatments of a complex problem, sweeping claims and dubious statistics [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. Such an approach might help to win attention, investment and support for an anti-trafficking agenda in the short term, but ultimately risks causing credibility problems for the entire field and contributing to ineffective, even harmful, interventions [see, e.g., 2 , 4 – 6 ]. From the 1990s onwards, levels of interest and investment in counter-trafficking expanded rapidly [ 3 , 7 , 8 ]. In tandem, the literature on trafficking has proliferated [ 9 , 10 ]. Yet, actual empirical (data-driven) research remains relatively rare [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. Of course, non-empirical approaches have value too – for example in challenging how we conceptualise trafficking or highlighting tensions in governments’ or businesses’ commitments to anti-trafficking measures. Nevertheless, empirical research is clearly crucial to advance understanding of the trafficking phenomenon and shape nuanced, evidence-informed policy and practice. Even where empirical research exists, its quality can be highly variable, with many publications (even peer-reviewed ones) found to fall short of even rudimentary scientific standards [ 13 , 15 ]. Additionally, there is a particular dearth of rigorous, independent evaluations of interventions [ 7 , 13 ] – despite the many millions of dollars spent thus far on anti-trafficking efforts worldwide [ 12 , 16 ].

Before proceeding, it is worth acknowledging some fundamental tensions in researching human trafficking. First, trafficking is not a neatly delineated phenomenon that can be consistently identified and readily counted [ 1 , 2 ]. Instead, it is a relatively fuzzy social construct that exists upon what is increasingly recognised as a ‘continuum of exploitation’ running from decent conditions through to severe abuses [ 17 ]. Second, trafficking is not – and has never been – ‘discursively neutral terrain’ [ 18 ]. Instead it is contested territory that has long been tied up with broader political, economic and ideological agendas [ 3 , 19 ]. Third, trafficking is a sensitive topic involving hidden populations [ 20 ]. Whether those involved are identified at all – let alone assigned the trafficking label – is heavily contingent on other factors, ranging from victims’ willingness to disclose abuses to funding and prioritisation of counter-trafficking efforts [for further discussion, see 21 , 22 ].

Despite these issues, it would be hard to argue that the extremes of exploitation that are – or could be – conceptualised as trafficking do not merit attention and intervention. If the trafficking field is to evolve and maintain credibility, therefore, more high-quality empirical research is needed. With so many gaps, there are many directions its expansion could take. Here, we highlight some of the gaps and limitations that are particularly pronounced and well-documented. Traditionally, research has focused overwhelmingly on sex trafficking and other trafficking types have been relatively overlooked [ 12 , 13 ]. Victim-focused research dominates the literature, leaving offenders comparatively neglected [ 23 , 24 , 25 ]. Most trafficking research is qualitative in nature and quantitative studies are far rarer, particularly those that go beyond descriptive statistics alone [ 9 , 13 ]. Accessing research data and participants is notoriously challenging and remains a key barrier to the development of the field [ 11 , 21 , 26 ]. On the one hand, existing datasets (e.g. police or other administrative data) have obvious under-tapped potential for academic research and could be used far more extensively and effectively [ 21 , 27 , 28 ]. On the other, increased investment in primary data collection – such as via survey methods – is also necessary to address questions that existing data cannot answer. Perhaps linked to difficulties accessing data, trafficking studies typically focus on a single country and robust comparative analyses across multiple jurisdictions are rare [see, e.g., 29 ]. Although researchers have often approached human trafficking through a criminological or sociological lens, trafficking is clearly not just a crime problem. Other disciplines, such as geography, public health, management and computer science (to name but a few), also clearly have much to contribute [see, e.g., 30 – 32 ]. Linked to this disciplinary expansion, pushback continues against exceptionalising trafficking: rather than treating it as the product of a few isolated criminals (i.e. ‘bad apples’), there is a need to examine more closely how exploitation can be enabled or exacerbated by broader systems (i.e. ‘bad barrels’) such as those involved in the neoliberal labour market and its regulation as well as migration policies [see, e.g., 33 – 36 ]. Finally, it is not enough just to do more research on trafficking: the research itself needs to consistently meet high standards, for example in terms of methodological transparency and rigour, solid research designs and robust ethical conduct [ 13 , 37 ].

Given this context, we are delighted this special edition begins to address many of these key gaps. The papers in it have been written by some of the world’s leading academic experts on trafficking and span a range of countries, topics and approaches. What unites the contents is a shared grounding in original, empirical research and innovative contributions to the literature, be it in thematic, methodological and/or conceptual terms. Thanks to funding from the Economic and Social Research Council of the UK, the process included a symposium in London in July 2018. Lead authors came together to present their first drafts and share their feedback on one another’s work; the resultant papers are all the stronger for the constructive criticism and vigorous debate that ensued. Overall, we are confident that this volume has much to offer for academics, policy-makers and practitioners interested in new perspectives on human trafficking. Below, we provide a short summary of each paper, followed by some brief concluding observations.

The special edition starts with a rare quantitative analysis of individual-level data on human trafficking, using data from the United Kingdom’s central system for identifying trafficking victims. For a sample of 2,630 confirmed victims, Cockbain and Bowers [ 38 ] systematically compare those trafficked for sexual exploitation, domestic servitude and (other) labour exploitation. They examine similarities and differences in terms of victim demographics, the trafficking process and official responses. They find both substantial and significant differences between types, demonstrating that human trafficking is a complex and diverse phenomenon. Although different forms of trafficking are routinely conflated in research, policy and interventions, this study highlights the value of a more nuanced approach that takes into account differences between – and indeed within – trafficking types.

Qiu, Zhang and Liu [ 39 ] provide a new perspective by focusing on trafficking for forced marriage – a particularly understudied issue – in the Chinese context. Women from poor neighbouring countries, such as Myanmar, frequently look for employment opportunities in China. Due to a severe imbalance in China’s sex ratio, a trafficking market has emerged to meet the demand for brides. The authors analyse 73 court cases involving 184 Myanmar women who were trafficked into China in the period 2003–2016. They find that most traffickers had limited education and were either unemployed or underemployed. The vast majority were Chinese nationals with good connections in both the cross-border trade and traditional matchmaking business. Most trafficking turned out to involve few formal organisational structures and occurred primarily under the guise of employment opportunities: it appeared that most victims were recruited within Myanmar in response to the offers of a job in interior China.

Wijkman and Kleemans [ 40 ] shed new light on female offenders involved in human trafficking, in particular trafficking for sexual exploitation. Analysing the court files of 150 women convicted for trafficking offences in the Netherlands, they conclude that popular conceptions of the role of women in trafficking are inaccurate and simplistic. Contrary to stereotypes of passive female victims/predatory male offenders, their analysis shows that female traffickers are neither rare nor unimportant. The roles they performed were not limited to low-ranking activities, nor were they exceptional: instead they could be similar to those of male offenders. Specific prior experiences of victimisation, such as a history of being sexually exploited, inadequately explained women’s involvement in the offending. Finally, the frequent presence of male co-offenders clearly shows that offending is embedded in social relationships, including intimate (romantic) relationships.

Brunovskis and Surtees [ 41 ] offer timely insights into the complexities of identifying trafficking victims in situations of massive and rapid transit movements. Their focus is on Europe’s so-called “refugee crisis” of 2015 and 2016. They draw on fieldwork in Serbia, where an extraordinarily high number of vulnerable migrants/refugees from different countries and cultural backgrounds passed through along the Balkan route over a short period of time. Opportunities to interact with these migrants/refugees in ways that would lead to victim identification and support proved heavily constrained. In such situations, the authors found it was difficult to set up appropriate and effective human trafficking screening mechanisms and to identify particular vulnerabilities. They conclude that the anti-trafficking framework can be difficult to apply in mass migration settings and does not always fit well with peoples’ experiences. Moreover, the protections on offer may not be suitable for or wanted by those who would be eligible.

Davies and Ollus [ 42 ] situate labour exploitation – including but not limited to trafficking at the extreme end of the spectrum – firmly within the context of developments in the economy, labour markets, and society at large. Breaking with dominant approaches to anti-trafficking that tend to centre individual offenders, they focus instead on how supply chains and business practices can enable and exacerbate the exploitation of vulnerable workers. Their analysis is based on qualitative, semi-structured interviews with both workers and supply chain stakeholders (e.g. employers, intermediaries and regulators) in the UK agri-food industry ( n = 27) and the Finnish cleaning industry ( n = 38). They identify industry dynamics, labour subcontracting and insufficient regulatory oversight as key factors in enabling exploitation in otherwise legitimate businesses. Given the significant role of corporate practices in facilitating exploitation, the authors argue in favour of framing labour exploitation as a form of corporate crime.

Van Meeteren and Wiering [ 43 ] take a fairly unusual approach in examining labour trafficking in the context of regular rather than irregular migration, specifically a labour migration scheme for the Chinese catering industry in the Netherlands. Through an in-depth qualitative analysis of investigative files from eight such cases identified as constituting labour trafficking, the authors explore various mechanisms through which exploitation is facilitated and sustained. They focus in particular on the impact of restrictions connected to regular migrant workers’ immigration status. The authors conclude that while employers and victims alike can manoeuvre within the space provided by immigration policies, these policies clearly shape relationships and dependencies in the labour market. They find, for example, that migrants’ reliance on their employers for work and residence permits makes them hesitant to disobey, run away and risk the large sums they have already invested in their migration ambitions. Tied residence and work permits emerge in this way as a particularly important contributor to vulnerability to labour exploitation.

De Vries, Nickerson, Farrell, Wittmer-Wolfe, and Bouché [ 44 ] extend research on the relationship between anti-immigration sentiment and criminal justice problems and solutions, by focusing on public support for anti-trafficking efforts in the United States. Using public opinion data from a nationally representative survey with 2,000 respondents, the authors find that anti-immigration sentiment is related to greater recognition that immigrants are vulnerable to human trafficking victimisation. While anti-immigration sentiment does not impact views on general governmental prioritization of counter-trafficking policies, it is associated with less public support for services for immigrant trafficking victims. These findings might explain why, according to the authors, public policies safeguarding migrant trafficked persons have been among the most difficult to pass in the United States, despite strong overall support for government prioritisation of anti-trafficking efforts.

Overall, this special edition covered a wide range of topics, geographies, datasets and methods. Despite the variety in the approaches, some common themes can be identified, which have important implications for research, policy and practice. First, many contributions underscore the complexity and diversity of both trafficking and counter-trafficking activity, including in terms of attributes and attitudes of victims, offenders and the general publics. Moving away from one-size-fits-all approaches is vital to become more effective at explaining and tackling this issue. Second, many papers highlight the importance of contextual factors in understanding how trafficking and exploitation are produced, sustained and exacerbated. Greater recognition of contextual factors - both at the individual- and systems-level - is crucial in supporting more nuanced responses and identifying a wider range of avenues for intervention. Third, the articles often challenge stereotypes, debunk myths and/or question assumptions about how trafficking and counter-trafficking function. With trafficking such a ‘hot’ topic, it is vital that rigorous empirical research continues to provide a measured and informed counter-balance to media and political treatments that are all too often simplistic and sensationalised.

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Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to the Economic and Social Research Council of the UK for funding the symposium in London via Dr. Ella Cockbain’s Future Research Leaders Fellowship (grant reference: ES/K008463/1). We thank the Department of Security and Crime Science at University College London for hosting the event and all who attended for their valuable contributions and feedback on others’ work. We thank all the anonymous reviewers for their generosity with their time and insightful comments. Our final thanks goes to the journal’s general editors, Professors Mary Dodge and Wim Huisman, for their support for this special edition and assistance throughout.

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Cockbain, E., Kleemans, E.R. Innovations in empirical research into human trafficking: introduction to the special edition. Crime Law Soc Change 72 , 1–7 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-019-09852-7

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Published : 25 July 2019

Issue Date : 15 August 2019

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-019-09852-7

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Trafficking in Persons Report From the U.S. Dept. of State, The Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report is the U.S. Government’s principal diplomatic tool to engage foreign governments on human trafficking. It is also the world’s most comprehensive resource of governmental anti-human trafficking efforts.
Beyond a Snapshot: Preventing Human Trafficking in the Global Economy An article by Janie Chuang that "seeks to reframe trafficking as a migratory response to current globalizing socioeconomic trends."
Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 An act to combat trafficking in persons, especially into the sex trade, slavery, and involuntary servitude, to reauthorize certain Federal programs to prevent violence against women, and for other purposes.
Polaris Project Polaris Project is one of the leading organizations in the global fight against human trafficking and modern-day slavery.
Sex Trafficking: Local Resources, Fact, Warning Signs and Help WEAVE is the primary provider of crisis intervention services for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in Sacramento County. Their mission is to promote safe and healthy relationships and support survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and sex trafficking.

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UCL Jill Dando Institute of Security and Crime Science

Human Trafficking, Smuggling and Exploitation Research Group

Our focus with this research group is on building a stronger and more nuanced evidence-base on human trafficking, smuggling and exploitation in their various forms (including what is increasingly referred to as ‘modern slavery’). These are broad umbrella terms that encompass a wide variety of complex and often contested areas. As such, we recognise the need for nuance and specificity in analyses and interventions. We are particularly interested in applied research that advances understanding and supports more informed, effective and ethical responses. We work across qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods research, depending on a particular project’s aims, scope and research questions. We have a strong track record for high-quality research that is rigorous, context-sensitive, and informed by solid domain understanding. We have worked with various organisations across the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. Our research has been influential in informing policy, practice and public debate, including through challenging myths and misinformation. The real-world impact of our research has been recognised through a world-leading impact case study in the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021). If you have any questions about this research group or would like to get in touch about a potential collaboration, please contact the group lead Dr Ella Cockbain ( [email protected] ).

We have a strong track record in securing funding for research in this space, with £2.2 million in research funding since 2013 for projects related to human trafficking and exploitation in various forms, including two major fellowships (a Wellcome Early Career Fellowship and an ESRC Future Research Leaders Fellowship). A selection of current and past projects is included below. In addition to these funded projects, we have also supported many students to secure competitive PhD scholarships.

Current Projects

Examining the social, spatial and temporal systems behind human trafficking (Principal Investigator Dr Ella Cockbain, 2019-24) : Funded under the ESRC’s Transnational Organised Crime call, this £456,000 project investigates the structure of trafficking networks and spatial and temporal patterns in identified and suspected trafficking in the UK. The project takes a largely quantitative approach, closely informed by extensive domain knowledge and sensitive to contextual nuance. It draws extensively on sensitive data from the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) and the Modern Slavery Helpline, kindly provided by project partners the National Crime Agency (NCA) and Unseen. A key focus for the grant is also about encouraging more nuanced, evidence-informed policy and practice in the anti-trafficking space. The team for this grant includes co-investigators Professor Kate Bowers, Dr Lisa Tompson, Dr Aiden Sidebottom and Dr Matt Ashby, and Research Assistant Dr Donia Khanegi (all UCL Security and Crime Science). More information on this project available here
Precarious work and labour market abuses (co-Principal Investigators Dr Ella Cockbain and Dr Chris Pósch, 2022-24) : Co-funded by the ESRC and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), this £742,000 project was commissioned by the Director of Labour Market Enforcement to assess the scale and nature of labour market non-compliance in the UK. This mixed-methods study focuses specifically on the experiences of people in precarious work. The cornerstone is a large-scale representative survey, administered by Kantar as an associated study to the Understanding Society survey. Those results will inform complementary in-depth interviews with precarious workers, and focus groups with workers and employers. The team includes co-investigators Dr Sam Scott (University of Gloucestershire), Professor Ben Bradford (UCL Security and Crime Science) and Professor Virginia Mantouvalou (UCL Laws), and Research Assistant Jack Beadsworth (PhD candidate at UCL Laws), with support from leading NGO FLEX (Focus on Labour Exploitation). For more information, please see this blogpost or the project webpage .
Wellcome Early Career Fellowship (Principal Investigator Dr Alys McAlpine, 2022-27) : This prestigious five year fellowship (£610,000) was awarded to Dr McAlpine to investigate ways of strengthening violence prevention through innovative and interdisciplinary intervention modelling. Taking human trafficking as the focus, this project brings together public health, crime science and complexity science to advance violence prevention research. The fellowship is co-hosted by the UCL Institute for Global Health (IGH) and UCL Jill Dando Institute of Security and Crime Science. More information on the project is available here .
Exploring policing practices in London in relation to sex work (Principal Investigator Dr Jyoti Belur, 2022-23) : Funded by the Metropolitan Police Service (£50,000 excl. VAT), this project was commissioned to improve understanding of how the MPS currently polices in relation to sex work, identifying tensions, challenges, areas of good and bad practice, and recommendations for change. The project involves in-depth interviews with both policing and non-policing stakeholders, including sex worker-led organisations. While we explicitly do not conceptualise sex work as ‘exploitation’ in and of itself, the overlap in policing of sex work and of human trafficking/’modern slavery’ brings this project into the research group’s scope. The research team includes co-investigator Dr Ella Cockbain, and Research Assistant Michele Bal (both UCL Security and Crime Science).

Past Projects

Examples of key past projects iclude:

An ESRC Future Research Leaders Fellowship for research into human trafficking for labour exploitation (Principal Investigator Dr Ella Cockbain, Mentor Prof Kate Bowers, 2014-18). This £204,000 fellowship drew extensively on both qualitative and quantitative data from the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), provided by the National Crime Agency. It also included a systematic review of the evidence-base on labour trafficking.
An initial analysis of precarious work in the UK , using data from the Understanding Society survey (Principal Investigator Dr Chris Pósch, 2019-20). Commissioned by the Director of Labour Market Enforcement (DLME) and funded by BEIS at £10,000 excl. VAT.
A scoping study of how best to measure the scale and nature of labour market non-compliance in the UK (Principal Investigator Dr Ella Cockbain, 2018-19). Commissioned by the Director of Labour Market Enforcement (DLME) and funded by BEIS at £25,000 excl. VAT.
A mixed-methods study into the sexual exploitation of boys and young men in the UK (Principal Investigator Dr Carol McNaughton-Nicholls, 2013-14). Funded by the Nuffield Foundation (£97,000), this study was a collaboration between NatCen Social Research, UCL and Barnardo’s. The UCL team (led by Dr Ella Cockbain) was responsible for a rapid evidence assessment and large-scale quantitative analysis of gendered differences in child sexual exploitation (CSE).

We have a wide range of researchers working in this space, with complementary skills and experience. Brief biographies are provided below.

Dr Ella Cockbain (research group lead) : Ella is an Associate Professor in Security and Crime Science at UCL, and a visiting research fellow at Leiden University. Her research focuses primarily on human trafficking, child sexual exploitation, and labour market abuses. She is committed to nuanced, evidence-informed and context-sensitive responses to these complex social phenomena, and has done a lot of work around challenging misconceptions and misinformation. She is the former co-chair of the UK’s Modern Slavery Strategy and Implementation Group on prevention, and a current member. A previous ‘Future Research Leaders’ fellow of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Ella currently leads two major studies: one focusing on human trafficking (ESRC-funded), the other on labour market abuses (with co-lead Chris Pósch, funded by the ESRC and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy). She supervises numerous PhDs relating to human trafficking, smuggling and exploitation, and is leading the new teaching module on these topics.
Dr Matt Ashby : Matt is a Lecturer in Crime Science. His research focuses on crime analysis, how crime concentrates in time and space, and how police can use data to solve crime problems. Matt’s research has been funded by organisations including the College of Policing and UK Home Office. Matt is a former police officer, has a PhD in Crime Science and is a fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He teaches crime mapping and data analysis, as well as training police practitioners on problem solving. Matt has worked on research with Barnardo’s into child sexual exploitation (funded by the Nuffield Foundation) and is currently a co-investigator on a major ESRC-funded grant on human trafficking, for which he leads on the analysis of data from the UK’s NRM (National Referral Mechanism) system.
Dr Jyoti Belur : Jyoti is an Associate Professor in Policing at the UCL Department of Security and Crime Science. She qualified in Economics at the University of Mumbai, and worked there as a lecturer before serving as a senior officer in the Indian Police Service. She has undertaken research for the UK Home Office, College of Policing, ESRC and the Metropolitan Police Service, and as a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow. She is the programme convenor for the BSc in Professional Policing. She is currently a member of the London Policing Ethics Panel and the HMICFRS Academic Reference Group. A qualitative research methods expert, Jyoti’s research interests include policing, police training and education, evaluations, and violence against women and children. She is currently supervising PhD and Masters research projects on the policing response to human trafficking, and leading research on London policing responses to sex work and trafficking of adults for sexual exploitation.
Professor Ben Bradford : Ben is Professor of Global City Policing at UCL and Director of the Centre for Global City Policing. His research concentrates in particular on questions of trust, legitimacy, cooperation and compliance in justice settings. He also has interests in aspects of ‘street-level’ police practice, the use of new technologies in policing, the ethics of policing, and perhaps above all the effect of police activity on those who experience it. He has significant experience of the use of surveys and experimental methods in these areas of research, and has worked extensively with police organisations across the UK, as well as a wide range of other governmental and non-governmental actors. He is currently a co-investigator on a major grant assessing the scale and nature of labour-market non-compliance affecting precarious workers in the UK, commissioned by the Director of Labour Market Enforcement and building on earlier UCL-led projects in this space.

Professor Kate Bowers : Kate is the Head of Department of UCL Security and Crime Science and Director of the Jill Dando Institute of Security and Crime Science. Kate’s research focuses on using data analytics and multi-disciplinary techniques to develop strategies for the prevention and detection of crime. Her particular interests lie in using analysis to predict crime patterns and developing the evidence base on what works to reduce crime. She has worked on several research projects related to human trafficking, including as a mentor on Ella Cockbain’s past ESRC Future Research Leaders Fellowship on labour trafficking, and as a co-investigator and the deputy director on the current ESRC grant on human trafficking.

Dr Donia Khanegi : Donia has an academic background in forensic and crime science, with research interests including organised crime, drug trafficking, drug policy, human trafficking, and behaviour change. Having recently completed her PhD on the negative societal impacts of the illicit drug trade and drug related behaviour change, Donia now works as a research fellow at the JDI. She is currently working on a major ESRC-funded human trafficking grant, applying social network analysis to investigate the structure and organisation of labour trafficking networks in the UK.

Dr Alys McAlpine : Alys is a Wellcome Trust Fellow (2022-2027) researching human trafficking prevention in the UK. Her background is in public health approaches to violence prevention. In 2021, she completed an ESRC-funded PhD at the Gender, Violence and Health Center (GVHC) at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), in collaboration with Freedom Fund . Her thesis applied social network analysis and agent-based modelling to explore social and intermediary networks facilitating labour migration in the Myanmar-Thailand corridor. Building on this work, she and colleagues received an ESRC methods innovation grant (2021-2022) to further explore the use of complex system modelling for violence prevention intervention development. Her current research is exploring how to integrate public health and crime science approaches to prevent human trafficking and respond to the mental health needs of trafficking survivors in the UK.

Dr Krisztián Pósch : Chris is a Lecturer in Crime Science at the Department of Security and Crime Science at UCL, and a visiting research fellow at the Department of Methodology at the London School of Economics. He has a background in psychology, research methods, and statistics. His methodological interest lies in employing innovative causal inference techniques and survey methods to address real-world problems. Much of his work focuses on public perception of the police and the impact of police practices and interventions. Currently, Chris is the work package leader of the quantitative branch of the TASERD project (‘An independent research programme on the causes of ethnic/racial disparities in the police use of Taser’) funded by the College of Policing, the lead evaluator for the ‘Awareness Academy’ programme funded by the Metropolitan Police, and the co-lead with Ella Cockbain of the ‘Assessment of the Scale and Nature of Labour Market Non-compliance in the UK’ funded by the ESRC and BEIS.

Dr Aiden Sidebottom : Aiden Sidebottom is an Associate Professor in the Jill Dando Institute of Security and Crime Science at University College London. His main research interests are problem-oriented policing, crime analysis and crime prevention. Aiden is a m ember of the academic advisory board for Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services and a judge for the Goldstein Award for excellence in problem-oriented policing. Aiden is a co-investigator on the current ESRC-funded project on human trafficking, where he leads on the engagement and impact strand. He has also worked extensively on the issue of missing children, which intersects with risks of exploitation.

Dr Lisa Tompson : Lisa is a Senior Lecturer at the New Zealand Institute for Security and Crime Science and an honorary Research Fellow at UCL’s Department of Security and Crime Science, where she used to work. Lisa’s research interests coalesce around generating evidence to help practitioners and policy-makers to prevent crime. Her research has been commissioned by a range of UK agencies, such as the Home Office, Environment Agency, Regional Government Offices and Local Authorities, as well as Police Forces and Local Authorities. Lisa takes a data science approach to problem-solving and has developed methods for analysing several emerging and hidden crime types. She is a co-investigator on the current ESRC-funded trafficking project, leading on analysis of data from the UK’s Modern Slavery Helpline.

There are numerous doctoral researchers working at UCL Security and Crime Science on PhD research into various aspects of human trafficking, smuggling, exploitation and/or neighbouring issues, in the UK and internationally. They are an important part of our vibrant research community and we have regular research group meetings (particular thanks go to Francesca Costi and David Suber for their important contributions to setting up this group and organising these sessions). Below you can find brief summaries of current doctoral research projects (contact details included with consent). Please do get in touch if you are interested in doing a PhD with us at UCL Security and Crime Science.

Alexandre Bish

PhD supervisors : Dr Ella Cockbain and Professor Her v é Borrion, both UCL Security and Crime Science

Working title : Modelling migrant-smuggling and trafficking dynamics on the Central Mediterranean route to Europe.

Research focus : My PhD research looks at scripting and modelling migrant smuggling dynamics on the central Mediterranean route to Europe with a focus on Libya and Niger. The main methods used include crime scripting, social network analysis and statistical analysis. Data is drawn from interviews with migrants, migrant smugglers, and key informant interviews. This research is funded by an EPSRC studentship (via the SECReT doctoral training centre).

Email: [email protected]

Kane Brooks

PhD supervisors : Dr Sanaz Zolghadriha and Professor Kate Bowers, both UCL Security and Crime Science

Working title : The role of social media intelligence in organised crime investigations involving child criminal exploitation.

Research focus : This project examines evidential opportunities innate to social media usage by young persons engaged in organised criminal conduct. The phenomenon of county line gangs has received significant media attention. However, the criminal investigation techniques deployed by practitioners have undergone less public scrutiny. Social media intelligence, also known as internet intelligence investigations (III), is the operational tactic used by law enforcement organisations to collect evidence from suspects and victims in a wide range of criminal investigations. This is a crucial intelligence development tool for organised crime investigations involving child criminal exploitation (CCE).

Jonathan Camilleri

PhD supervisors : Dr Ella Cockbain and Dr Jyoti Belur, both UCL Security and Crime Science

Working title : Investigating agency, choice and exploitation in sex work in Malta through the perspective of sex working and non-sex working stakeholders.

Research focus : This Malta-based project (i) probes local non-sex working stakeholders’ perceptions on agency, choice and exploitation in sex work, (ii) and examines these perceptions against primary data on how people in sex work navigate complex choices across a spectrum of agency and oppression, and within the context of individual, social, environmental and systemic factors. Primary data is collected via in-depth interviews with a range of people with lived experience of sex work in Malta, and with non-sex working stakeholders and practitioners. This research is funded by the Tertiary Education Scholarships Scheme (Malta).

Email : [email protected]

Francesca Costi

PhD supervisors : Professor Kate Bowers and Dr Sanaz Zolghadriha, both UCL Security and Crime Science

Working title : Studying crime during the pandemic: how technology has changed the human trafficking business structure in the UK.

Research focus : My PhD research looks at the changes in human trafficking during the Covid-19 pandemic and the adaptability of human trafficking illicit crime enterprise to the new era of digitalisation. This project is focused on studying and analysing the modus operandi that offenders have adopted in using adult website services (AWS) in sexual exploitation and trafficking reaching a new level of cyber-sophistication in their business model. This research is funded by a Dawes-UCL SECReT scholarship, and is part of the Dawes Centre for Future Crime.

Email : [email protected]

Clara Cotroneo

PhD supervisors : Professor Joachim Koops (Leiden University, Institute of Security and Global Affairs) and Dr Ella Cockbain (UCL Security and Crime Science)

Working title : Anti-trafficking policies and practices in Europe

Research focus : my research investigates and examines the EU approach to trafficking in human beings in times of crisis. In particular, I am interested in identifying inconsistencies in policy and field practices, with the objective of flagging up potential risks for victims.

Email : [email protected]

Aliai Eusebi

PhD supervisors : Dr Enrico Mariconti (UCL Security and Crime Science), Dr Marie Vasek (UCL Computer Science) and Dr Ella Cockbain (UCL Security and Crime Science).

Working title : Ethical machine learning for online safety

Research focus : My PhD research is designed to operationalise the role of ethics in machine learning for online safety. The technical reality of machine learning is permeated by a constellation of ethical concerns related to transparency, fairness, and privacy, among others. I am interested in exploring actions to mitigate black-box, biased, and privacy violating AI when responding to socially-sensitive problems like online child sexual exploitation. This research is funded by an ESRC studentship.

Email : [email protected]

Phirapat Mangkhalasiri

PhD supervisors : Dr Jyoti Belur and Dr Ella Cockbain, both UCL Security and Crime Science

Working title : Human Trafficking for Child Sex Trafficking and Child Labour Trafficking in Thailand: Challenges of Investigation and Prosecution in the Criminal Justice System

Research focus : This study aims to map out how child sex trafficking and child labour trafficking cases are currently being investigated and prosecuted in Thailand, to identify gaps and challenges in the successful investigation and subsequent prosecution of child sex trafficking and child labour trafficking cases, and to draw solutions from the literature and from practitioners to address some of these challenges. This study involves extracting data from police investigative case files, as well as interviews with police officers, prosecutors, judges, social welfare officers and NGOs. This research is funded by a scholarship from the Thai Government.

Email : [email protected]

Mohammad Saheed

Supervisors : Dr Jyoti Belur & Dr Ben Bradford

Working title : Assessing the response of the London Metropolitan Police & Counter Terrorism Policing towards Modern Slavery

Research focus : My research is a qualitative based study. The data will be collected by conducting semi-structured interviews of Police officers working within the Modern Slavery Team of the London Metropolitan Police & officers working within Counter Terrorism Policing. The study aims to identify perceptions and misperceptions related to victim characteristics and examine the impact of current training initiatives.

Valentina Stincanu

Supervisors : Dr Enrico Mariconti, Dr Ella Cockbain and Dr Alina Ristea, all UCL Security and Crime Science

Working title : Mixed Methods Research into the Development of Human Trafficking in Cyberspace – A Country-Specific Case Study Analysis

Research focus : The PhD is a mixed methods analysis of human trafficking and anti-trafficking activity, with a particular interest in the trafficking-online nexus. It will involve a variety of complementary studies, including quantitative analysis of human trafficking statistical data, social media analysis and fieldwork around governmental and non-governmental organisations’ prevention campaigns, as well as social media analysis into advertisements and opportunities abroad. This research aims to examine the role of cyberspace in facilitating both human trafficking and anti-trafficking activity.

Email : valentina [email protected]

David Leone Suber

Supervisors : Dr Ella Cockbain and Professor Ben Bradford, both UCL Security and Crime Science

Working title : Assessing the effects and models of border enforcement practices over smuggling and trafficking networks, and migrant vulnerability, in and to Europe.

Research focus : This research looks at how smuggling networks operate and transform, and why are they so resilient in the current environment of global migration flows and border enforcement strategies at Europe’s land borders. This study involves a systematic review of academic literature on border enforcement and human smuggling, as well as fieldwork from the Turkish-Syrian and Turkish-Iranian border, the Balkan route and the UK-France cross-Channel route, involving a multitude of research methods, including interviews with migrants and smugglers, data extraction from social media channels used for smuggling, and law enforcement data. This research is funded by an ESRC studentship.

Email : [email protected]

We have taught MSc students about these issues for many years now, and are delighted to now be offering a new specialist MSc module from 2023/24. Entitled ‘Human trafficking, smuggling and exploitation’, this module will provide MSc students cutting-edge research-led teaching and the ability to explore complex and contested issues in more depth. In addition, each year many Departmental MSc students choose to focus on topics related to human trafficking/smuggling/exploitation for their dissertation research projects. Our staff have supervised a wide variety of MSc projects in this field over the years, including the following examples from students whose MSc research was subsequently published in academic journals:

Kristen Olver (MSc Countering Organised Crime and Terrorism, 2017/18) MSc research published as: Olver, K. and Cockbain, E. (2021), ‘ County lines’ criminal exploitation in the West Midlands, UK: professionals' perspectives on key legislation, organisational challenges and strengthening responses . Child Abuse Re view.
Clara Galiano López ( MSc Countering Organised Crime and Terrorism, 2018/19). MSc research published as Galiano López, C., Hunter, J., Davies, T., & Sidebottom, A. (2021), Further evidence on the extent and time course of repeat missing incidents involving children: A research note . The Police Journal .
Ada Volodko (MSc Countering Organised Crime and Terrorism, 2017/18). MSc research published as: Volodko, A., Cockbain, E. and Kleinberg, B. (2020), “Spotting the signs” of trafficking recruitment online: exploring the characteristics of advertisements targeted at migrant job-seekers . Trends in Organized Crime.
Alexander Babuta (MSc Crime Science, 2015/16), MSc research published as Babuta, A. and Sidebottom, A. (2018), Missing children: On the Extent, Patterns, and Correlates of Repeat Disappearances by Young People. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice .

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J Migr Health

Human trafficking and violence: Findings from the largest global dataset of trafficking survivors

Heidi stöckl.

a The Institute for Medical Information Processing, Biometry, and Epidemiology, Medical Faculty, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany

Camilla Fabbri

b Gender Violence & Health Centre, Department of Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

c Migrant Protection and Assistance Division International Organization for Migration, Geneva, Switzerland

Claire Galez-Davis

Naomi grant.

d The Freedom Fund, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

e Institute for Global Health, University College London, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

Cathy Zimmerman

Human trafficking is a recognized human rights violation, and a public health and global development issue. Violence is often a hallmark of human trafficking. This study aims to describe documented cases of violence amongst persons identified as victims of trafficking, examine associated factors throughout the trafficking cycle and explore prevalence of abuse in different labour sectors.

Methods and findings

The IOM Victim of Trafficking Database (VoTD) is the largest database on human trafficking worldwide. This database is actively used across all IOM regional and country missions as a standardized anti-trafficking case-management tool. This analysis utilized the cases of 10,369 trafficked victims in the VoTD who had information on violence.

The prevalence of reported violence during human trafficking included: 54% physical and/or sexual violence; 50% physical violence; and 15% sexual violence, with 25% of women reporting sexual violence. Experiences of physical and sexual violence amongst trafficked victims were significantly higher amongst women and girls (AOR 2.48 (CI: 2.01,3.06)), individuals in sexual exploitation (AOR 2.08 (CI: 1.22,3.54)) and those experiencing other forms of abuse and deprivation, such as threats (AOR 2.89 (CI: 2.10,3.98)) and forced use of alcohol and drugs (AOR 2.37 (CI: 1.08,5.21)). Abuse was significantly lower amongst individuals trafficked internationally (AOR 0.36 (CI: 0.19,0.68)) and those using forged documents (AOR 0.64 (CI: 0.44,0.93)). Violence was frequently associated with trafficking into manufacturing, agriculture and begging (> 55%).

Conclusions

An analysis of the world's largest data set on trafficking victims indicates that violence is indeed prevalent and gendered. While these results show that trafficking-related violence is common, findings suggest there are patterns of violence, which highlights that post-trafficking services must address the specific support needs of different survivors.

1. Introduction

Human trafficking is a recognized human rights violation, and a public health and global development issue. Target 8.7 of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals calls for states to take immediate and effective measures to eradicate trafficking, forced labour and modern slavery ( Griggs et al., 2013 ).

Human trafficking has been defined by the United Nations’ Palermo Protocol as a process that involves the recruitment and movement of people-by force, coercion, or deception—for the purpose of exploitation ( United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 2000 ).

Estimating the scale of human trafficking is difficult, due to the hidden nature of this crime and challenges associated with the definition. As a result, available estimates are contested ( Jahic and Finckenauer, 2005 ). According to data on identified victims of trafficking from the Counter-Trafficking Data Collaborative ( International Organization for Migration 2019 ), nearly half of the victims report being trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation, while 39% report forced labour, and the most common sectors of work included: domestic work (30%), construction (16%), agriculture (10%) and manufacturing (9%). Women and girls account for almost all those trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation, and 71% of those report violence ( International Organization for Migration 2019 ; International Labour Organization 2017 ; UNODC 2018 ).

Current data confirm that prevalence of violence is high amongst survivors, although few studies have investigated causal mechanisms related to violence in labour and sexual exploitation ( Kiss et al., 2015 ; Oram et al., 2012 ; Stöckl et al., 2017 ; Ottisova et al., 2016 ). Victims often report experiences of emotional, physical and sexual abuse throughout the various stages of the human trafficking cycle, from recruitment through travel and destination points, to release and reintegration ( Ottisova et al., 2016 ). Currently, evidence is scarce on the patterns of violence across different types of trafficking, despite its importance for more tailored assistance to survivors once they are in a position to receive post-trafficking support.

This study aims to close this evidence gap by describing documented cases of violence amongst trafficking survivors and describe associated factors, drawing on the largest global database to date, the IOM's Victim of Trafficking Database (VoTD).

2.1. Data source

The IOM VoTD is the largest database on human trafficking worldwide. Actively used across all IOM regional and country missions, VoTD is a standardized anti-trafficking case-management tool that monitors assistance for victims of trafficking. In certain contexts, IOM identifies victims at transit centres or following their escape, while in other settings IOM mainly provides immediate assistance following referral by another organization or long-term reintegration assistance. This routinely collected data includes information on various aspects of victims’ experiences, including background characteristics, entry into the trafficking process, movement within and across borders, sectors of exploitation, experiences of abuse, and activities or work at destination.

The primary purpose of IOM's VoTD is to support assistance to trafficked victims, not to collect survey data. It does not represent a standardized survey tool or research programme, and therefore, the quality and completeness of the data vary substantially between registered individuals. IOM case workers often enter data retrospectively and its quality may therefore be affected by large caseloads on staff working with limited resources. In addition, the VoTD sample may be biased by the regional distribution of IOM's missions and by the local focus on certain types of trafficking. For example, in the past, women were a near-exclusive target of IOM's assistance programs due to a focus on sexual exploitation. However, over time, the identification of trafficking victims has increasingly included individuals subjected to forced labour. Nevertheless, in the countries where IOM provides direct assistance to victims of trafficking, VoTD data are broadly representative of the identified victim population in that country and are still the most representative data with the widest global coverage on human trafficking.

Between 2002 and mid-2018, the VoTD registered 49,032 victims of trafficking, with nearly complete records for 26,067 records which provide information on whether individuals reported being exploited, with exploitation other than sexual and labour exploitation, such as organ trafficking or forced marriage accounting for less than five percent of the overall dataset. A bivariate analysis to identify patterns in the distribution of missing data found that missing values spanned across all variables of the data and no specific pattern regarding countries of exploitation or origin emerged that could explain the source of missing data.

2.2. Theory

This study relied on an adapted version of the Zimmerman et al. (2011) theoretical framework on human trafficking and health that comprises four basic stages: recruitment; travel and transit; exploitation; and the reintegration or integration stages; with sub-stages for some trafficked people who become caught up in detention or re-trafficking stages. The modified framework in Fig. 1 displays the three stages of the human trafficking process: recruitment, travel and transit and exploitation and displays the factors associated with experiences of violence during the trafficking process.

Stages of human trafficking adapted from Zimmerman et al. (2011) , incorporating variable coding.

2.3. Measures

The VoTD dataset includes survivors’ responses about whether they experienced physical or sexual violence during any stage of the trafficking process. Information available on trafficked persons’ pre-departure characteristics, risk factors at transit and exploitation stage are outlined in Fig. 1 with their respective coding. Reports on exploitation only include the last form of exploitation a victim of trafficking experienced. It is however possible to report more than one type of exploitation for the most recent situation.

The research team made a substantial effort to code and clean the data, working closely with IOM's data management team. IOM's database refers to the VoTD cases as ‘victims’ as IOM caseworkers follow the Palermo Protocol in their determination and this is the language of the Protocol, recognising the debates around the terminology victims versus survivors ( International Organization for Migration 2014 ). The secondary data analysis of the IOM VoTD data received ethical approval from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine ethical review board.

2.4. Data analysis

To estimate the prevalence of physical or sexual violence or both, as reported by trafficked victims in the VoTD, the analysis was restricted to the 10,369 victims with data available on experiences of physical and/or sexual violence. In total, 94 countries of exploitation were reported, covering the whole globe, including high-, middle- and low-income countries. Descriptive statistics highlight the characteristics of trafficked victims in total and by gender. Associations with physical and/or sexual violence have been calculated using unadjusted odds ratios. Only variables with a significant association with reports of physical and/or sexual violence in the unadjusted odds ratios were included into a staged logistic regression model. The staged logistic regression model aimed to show whether characteristics at pre-departure only or pre-departure and transit remain significantly associated with experiences of physical and/or sexual violence during human trafficking. A separate bivariate analysis was conducted between reported experiences of violence and sectors of exploitation due to the low number of responses for sectors of exploitation. In both the bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions, a p-value below 0.05 is taken to indicate significance.

Of the 10,369 trafficked victims included in this analysis, 89% were adults, of whom 54% were female. The prevalence of reported violence during human trafficking is high: 54% reported physical and/or sexual violence, 50% reported physical violence, and 15% sexual violence. Table 1 shows that more female victims report physical (54% versus 45%) and sexual (25% versus 2%) violence than men, both overall and amongst minors. amongst minors, 52% of girls reported physical violence and 27% sexual violence, compared to 39% and 8%, respectively amongst boys.

Prevalence of violence amongst victims of exploitation.

Pre-departure characteristics, displayed in Table 2 , show that most trafficked persons were in their twenties and thirties, and 17% were minors. amongst all VoTD cases, 75% self-identified as poor before their trafficking experience and 16% as very poor. Records show that 39% were married before they were trafficked. Of the total sample, 40% had achieved a secondary education. The majority reported that they were recruited into the trafficking process (79%), crossed an international border (92%) and were trafficked with others (75%). Forged documents were used in the trafficking process by 10% of trafficked persons. Most victims reported forced labour, 56% of whom were male. Of the 33% who were trafficked into sexual exploitation, 98% were female. Six percent reported they were trafficked into both labour and sexual exploitation. Victims reported a variety of abuses while trafficked, with 60% indicating they were subjected to threats against themselves or their family, 79% were deceived, 76% were denied movement, food or medical attention, 4% were given alcohol and/or drugs, 60% had documents confiscated and 35% reported situations of debt bondage.

Characteristics of trafficked persons at different stages of the trafficking stages for victims.

Exponentiated coefficients; 95% confidence intervals in brackets

Physical and/or sexual violence was significantly associated with being female, young age and self-reported high socio-economic status. More specifically, individuals between ages 18 and 24 are significantly more likely to report violence than those aged 25 to 34 and individuals aged 35 to 49 are less likely to report violence than those aged 25 to 34. Victims reporting their socio-economic status as well-off compared to poor before departure, were significantly more likely to report abuse during their trafficking experience. Crossing one border and using forged documents were all significantly associated with fewer reports of violence during the trafficking experience, while being in sexual exploitation and reporting any other forms of control or abuse during the exploitation stage increased the likelihood of violence reports.

Considering all pre-departure characteristics together, controlling for each other, being female and higher socio-economic status remained significantly associated with reports of physical and/or sexual violence (Model 1, Table 3 ), although only being female remained significant once transit and exploitation factors were taken into account. Controlling for other factors at the transit and exploitation stage, using forged documents remained significantly associated with fewer reports of violence as did most forms of abuses at the exploitation stage such as threats and being forced to take drugs and alcohol. Being in sexual exploitation or both sexual and labour exploitation versus labour alone also remained significant.

Association between trafficking characteristics and physical and/or sexual violence.

Exponentiated coefficients; 95% confidence intervals in brackets. * p < 0.05 ** p < 0.01 *** p < 0.001.

Availability of data on sectors of exploitation was limited. The separate analysis on the prevalence of physical and/or sexual violence in Table 4 displays high reports of violence from those trafficked into sexual exploitation, domestic work, manufacturing, agriculture and begging. Sexual violence was most often reported by victims trafficked into domestic work and the hospitality sector.

Prevalence of violence amongst victims of exploitation by activity sector.

“The opinions expressed in the article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout the report do not imply expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IOM concerning legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning its frontiers or boundaries.”

4. Discussion

Our analysis of the world's largest trafficking victim data set indicates that physical and sexual violence is indeed prevalent in cases of human trafficking, as 52% of the trafficking cases included reports of physical and/or sexual violence. It is noteworthy that nearly half (48%) of survivors did not report violence, indicating that human trafficking does not necessariliy have to involve physical or sexual violence. It is important to recall that 60% of survivors reported being subjected to threats to themselves or their family, a potential explanation for the lack of reports of phyiscal and/or sexual violence. Our analyses also suggest that trafficking-related violence is gendered, as higher levels of abuse were reported by female survivors and in sectors in which women and girls are commonly exploited: sex work and domestic work. It is also noteworthy that sexual violence is an issue amongst trafficked men below the age of 18, indicating the importance of investigating human trafficking by both gender and age and by sector of exploitation.

The prevalence of physical and/or sexual violence found in this study corresponds with the prevalence range reported in a 2016 systematic review, which found rates between 12% to 96% ( Oram et al., 2012 ) and in Kiss et al's 2014 three-country survey of male, female and child trafficking survivors in post-trafficking services in the Mekong. In Kiss et al., 48% reported physical and/or sexual violence, with women reporting higher rates of sexual violence than men ( Kiss et al., 2015 ).

Findings also indicated several contradictions related to common generalisations related to vulnerability to trafficking, which often suggest that the poorest and least educated are at greatest risk of trafficking ( Passos et al., 2020 ). However, our analysis indicated that 40% of those who were trafficked had a secondary education and only 16% self-identified as very poor. Interestingly, when considering who was most at risk of abuse during trafficking, victims who were younger, between ages 18–24, seemed to experience higher levels of violence, perhaps indicating that those who were more mature were more compliant.

Our study also offers new insights about violence that occurs before individuals arrive at the destination of exploitation. Our study highlights that physical or sexual violence is also associated with factors at the recruitment and transit stage of the trafficking process, such as socio-economic status, crossing international borders and the use of forged documents. The latter contradicts current assumptions that are applied in trafficking awareness and training activities, which warn prospective migrants about international trafficking and against the use of forged documents ( Kiss et al., 2019 ). There are a number of possible explanations for this finding on forged documents. First, it is possible that having used forged documents gives traffickers the ability to threaten their victims with arrest or imprisonment because of their illegal status versus using physical abuse. The study found that internal trafficking was associated with a higher prevalence of violence. To interpret this, it is necessary to consider the general population or work-related prevalence of violence in countries from where the victims originate. If their countries of origin have higher levels of violence, this may make individuals less likely to report what they might consider to be minor workplace abuses ( Paasche et al., 2018 ). Similarly, violence in sex work and domestic work may have been related to socially normative abuse patterns and general prevalence of violence in these sectors and locations to which individuals were trafficked ( Kaur-Gill and Dutta, 2020 ). For abuse in situations of commercial sexual exploitation, a sector in which violence was reportedly most prevalent ( Platt et al., 2018 ), victims were likely to have been subjected to abuses by traffickers (e.g., pimps, managers, brothel owners) and clients at levels relative to general levels of abuse in that sector in that location. Likewise, women trafficked into domestic work, would have been exposed to violence from members of the household, a behaviour that is rarely condemned or punished in countries where trafficking into domestic work is common.

It is also possible that the levels of violence experienced by trafficked persons are proportional to the degree of control the exploiter feels he needs to exert over the victim. In that sense, trafficking victims who have more resources or capabilities to leave an exploitative situation may be the ones who experience higher levels of violence. For example, people with greater economic resources may have a greater ability to leave and may also have a social network that can support their exit process. Sexual exploitation may take a higher degree of coercion over victims, which would make threats and violence a useful tactic to keep them in the situation.

The VoTD is a unique dataset on human trafficking. However, it is useful to recognise that the VoTD is a case-management database and not systematically collected survey data. Data is limited to single-item assessments rather than validated instruments to capture complex situations and experiences and often entered retrospectively by caseworkers. For example, socio-economic background was self-assessed through four options only and recruitment through a single question. It is for this reasons that we did not include emotional abuse into our measurement of violence – given the lack of internationally agreed definitions of emotional abuse, we could not be certain that case workers recognize and enter all experiences of emotional abuse uniformly across the globe. Furthermore, the VoTD is cross-sectional in nature and does not allow to infer causality with respect to the factors associated with experiences of violence during the trafficking process. The VoTD is not representative of the overall population of trafficking victims, as it only captures individuals who have been identified as trafficked and who were in contact with post-trafficking services.

Despite these limitations, the analysis highlights the importance of large-scale administrative datasets in future international human trafficking research to complement in-depth qualitative studies. Our analysis suggests the urgent need for clearer and more consistent use of definitions, tools, and measures in human trafficking research, particularly related to socio-economic background, what is meant by ‘recruitment’ and ‘emotional abuse’. In particular, there is a need for international standards and guidance for recording and processing administrative data on human trafficking for research purposes. Prospective donors must also recognize that record-keeping is part of care cost, and support it through grant-making. This will allow frontline organizations to invest in information management systems, staff training, and record keeping policies and protocols. If frontline agencies are to provide data for research purposes, beyond those which are necessary for delivering protection services for victims, additional resources should be considered.

Our study reiterates the importance of psychological outcomes resulting from violence in cases of human trafficking, which has been identified in many other site-specific studies ( Ottisova et al., 2016 ). Yet, despite these common findings, and the world's commitment to eradicate human trafficking in the Sustainable Development Goal 8.7, to date, there has been extremely little evidence to identify what types of post-trafficking support works for whom in which settings. For instance, there have been few robust experimental studies to determine what helps different individuals in different contexts grapple with the psychological aftermath of human trafficking, even amidst growing number of post-trafficking reintegration programs and policies ( Okech et al., 2018 ; Rafferty, 2021 ). Given the increasing amount of case data from many programs working with survivors, organisations will have to produce more systematically collected case data to ensure findings are relevant and useful for future post-trafficking psychological support for distress and disorders, such as PTSD and depression.

Furthermore, the data indicate that abuses may occur throughout the trafficking cycle, which suggests that victim-sensitive policy responses to human trafficking are required at places of origin, transit and, particularly at destination, when different forms of violence often go undetected. Our findings also underline the need for post-trafficking policies and services that recognise the variation in trafficking experiences, particularly the health implications of abuse for many survivors. Ultimately, because of the global magnitude of human trafficking and the prevalence of abuse in cases of trafficking, human trafficking needs to be treated as a public health concern ( Kiss and Zimmerman, 2019 ). Moreover, because survivors’ experiences of violence varied amongst men, women and children and across settings, it will be important to design services that meet individuals’ varying needs, designing context specific interventions ( Kiss and Zimmerman, 2019 ; Greenbaum et al., 2017 ).

5. Conclusion

This study offers substantial new insights on the patterns of physical and/or sexual violence amongst trafficking survivors. By highlighting the linkages between violence and associated factors at different stages of the trafficking process, our findings emphasise the importance of understanding the entire human trafficking process so that intervention planning can more accurately assess opportunities to prevent trafficking-related harm, improve assessments of survivor service needs, and increase well-targeted survivor-centred care. Ultimately, while these results suggest patterns can be observed, they also show that trafficking is a wide-ranging and far-reaching crime that requires responses that are well-developed based on individuals’ different experiences.

The study was funded by a Freedom Fund grant to the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the International Organization for Migration.

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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MDHHS program is training emergency responders on expanding infant safe sleep practices

April 09, 2024

A Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) program launched in 2022 is helping protect Michigan infants by training emergency responders on safe sleep practices to assist them as they interact with families to remove hazards from a child’s sleep environment. Since the Infant Safe Sleep Certification Program for EMS Agencies and Fire Departments was launched, 17 emergency medical service (EMS) agencies and fire departments have been certified, more than 800 providers have been trained in infant safe sleep and more than 160 families have been reached.

“This innovative collaboration supports the development of education plans, provider trainings, access to infant safe sleep resources, connections to local safe sleep experts and provides wraparound services for families in need,” said Elizabeth Hertel, director. “Providers are trained to identify unsafe infant sleep environments, inform families about infant safe sleep practices and set up pack and plays in the home.”

A Michigan baby dies every two to three days due to sleep-related causes – following safe sleep steps can help prevent these types of deaths. The program was developed through a collaboration between the Bureau of Emergency Preparedness, EMS and Systems of Care, EMS for Children Program and the Division of Maternal and Infant Health, Infant Safe Sleep Program with support from the Children's Safety Network Learning Collaborative to help prevent these deaths.

The Grand Rapids Fire Department was the first department to be certified in July 2022, and since then, with the support of the Kent County Health Department (KCHD) Infant Safe Sleep Program, four more agencies and departments have become certified in the county. The KCHD believes their infant safe sleep program provides important education and resources which contribute to the decrease in infant deaths from unsafe sleep.

"The Kent County Health Department’s Infant Safe Sleep Program has empowered fire departments and EMS agencies within our county to take proactive steps in protecting the youngest and most vulnerable members of our communities,” said Grand Rapids Fire Department Lieutenant Jim Betz. “The State’s certification program has allowed our coalition to assist multiple agencies with educating their members to recognize and address potentially unsafe sleep practices. Since becoming Safe Sleep certified the Grand Rapids Fire Department has performed more than 35 safe sleep interventions, allowing our members to leave behind informational packets, correct unsafe sleep practices and connect families to needed resources via our outstanding partners at the Kent County Health Department."

EMS agencies and fire departments wishing to learn more can visit Michigan.gov/SafeSleep , visit this webpage or email [email protected] .

Media Contact:

Chelsea Wuth

517-241-2112

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MDHHS program is training emergency responders on expanding infant safe
April 09, 2024. A Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) program launched in 2022 is helping protect Michigan infants by training emergency responders on safe sleep practices to assist them as they interact with families to remove hazards from a child's sleep environment. Since the Infant Safe Sleep Certification Program for ...

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