Measuring Human Trafficking

The trafficking of human beings is a major worldwide problem. This book addresses the need for a system that provides the same set of quantitative and qualitative data to help develop a comprehensive counter-strategy. It analyzes various definitions as well as the complexity of phenomena that impair the collection and comparability of data. Coverage also examines different approaches with the aim of coming to an effective monitoring system.

We live in a world where seemingly everything can be measured. We rely on indicators to translate social phenomena into simple, quantified terms, which in turn can be used to guide individuals, organizations, and governments in establishing policy. Yet counting things requires finding a way to make them comparable. And in the process of translating the confusion of social life into neat categories, we inevitably strip it of context and meaning—and risk hiding or distorting as much as we reveal. With The Seductions of Quantification, leading legal anthropologist Sally Engle Merry investigates the techniques by which information is gathered and analyzed in the production of global indicators on human rights, gender violence, and sex trafficking. Although such numbers convey an aura of objective truth and scientific validity, Merry argues persuasively that measurement systems constitute a form of power by incorporating theories about social change in their design but rarely explicitly acknowledging them. For instance, the US State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report, which ranks countries in terms of their compliance with antitrafficking activities, assumes that prosecuting traffickers as criminals is an effective corrective strategy—overlooking cultures where women and children are frequently sold by their own families. As Merry shows, indicators are indeed seductive in their promise of providing concrete knowledge about how the world works, but they are implemented most successfully when paired with context-rich qualitative accounts grounded in local knowledge.

The UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2016 is the third of its kind mandated by the United Nations General Assembly. In July 2010, the UNGA adopted the Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons. The Report covers and provides an overview of patterns and flows of trafficking in persons at the global, regional and national levels, based on trafficking cases detected mainly between 2012 and 2014. It looks at links between trafficking in persons, migration and conflict, and how refugees may be particularly vulnerable to being trafficked. The worldwide response to trafficking in persons, particularly in terms of criminalization and prosecution of trafficking crimes, is also a focus of this edition of the Global Report. Also included are the Country Profiles.

This publication explores the link between trafficking in persons and corruption, and presents a set of Guiding Principles on Combatting Corruption Related to Trafficking in Persons.

Human trafficking has many names and can take many forms - pimp control, commercial sex, exploitation, forced labor, modern slavery, child labor, and several others - and the definitions vary greatly across countries and cultures, as well as among researchers. In the United States, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) is the cornerstone of counter-trafficking efforts. It provides guidance for identifying and defining human trafficking, and it authorizes legislation and appropriations for subsequent counter-trafficking measures both within and outside of the federal government. First enacted in 2000, the TVPA has since been reauthorized by three administrations, and it includes a directive for the President to establish an Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking. The subsequent Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2018 also includes provisions for victim services and plans to enhance collaboration efforts to fight trafficking abroad. To explore current and innovative sampling methods, technological approaches, and analytical strategies for estimating the prevalence of sex and labor trafficking in vulnerable populations, a 2-day public workshop, Approaches to Estimating the Prevalence of Human Trafficking in the United States, was held in Washington, D.C. in April 2019. The workshop brought together statisticians, survey methodologists, researchers, public health practitioners, and other experts who work closely with human trafficking data or with the survivors of trafficking. Participants addressed the current state of research on human trafficking, advancements in data collection, and gaps in the data. They discussed international practices and global trends in human trafficking prevalence estimation and considered ways in which collaborations across agencies and among the U.S. government and private-sector organizations have advanced counter-trafficking efforts. This proceedings summarizes the presentations and discussions of the workshop.

Human trafficking has many names and can take many forms - pimp control, commercial sex, exploitation, forced labor, modern slavery, child labor, and several others - and the definitions vary greatly across countries and cultures, as well as among researchers. In the United States, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) is the cornerstone of counter-trafficking efforts. It provides guidance for identifying and defining human trafficking, and it authorizes legislation and appropriations for subsequent counter-trafficking measures both within and outside of the federal government. First enacted in 2000, the TVPA has since been reauthorized by three administrations, and it includes a directive for the President to establish an Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking. The subsequent Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2018 also includes provisions for victim services and plans to enhance collaboration efforts to fight trafficking abroad. To explore current and innovative sampling methods, technological approaches, and analytical strategies for estimating the prevalence of sex and labor trafficking in vulnerable populations, a 2-day public workshop, Approaches to Estimating the Prevalence of Human Trafficking in the United States, was held in Washington, D.C. in April 2019. The workshop brought together statisticians, survey methodologists, researchers, public health practitioners, and other experts who work closely with human trafficking data or with the survivors of trafficking. Participants addressed the current state of research on human trafficking, advancements in data collection, and gaps in the data. They discussed international practices and global trends in human trafficking prevalence estimation and considered ways in which collaborations across agencies and among the U.S. government and private-sector organizations have advanced counter-trafficking efforts. This proceedings summarizes the presentations and discussions of the workshop.

In the light of the urgent need for cooperative and collaborative action against trafficking, this publication presents examples of promising practice from around the world relating to trafficking interventions. It is hoped that the guidance offered, the practices showcased and the resources recommended in this Toolkit will inspire and assist policymakers, law enforcers, judges, prosecutors, victim service providers and members of civil society in playing their role in the global effort against trafficking in persons. The present edition is an updated and expanded version of the Toolkit published in 2006.