Much of the research on human trafficking focuses on the prosecution of traffickers and protection of survivors after the crime has occurred. Less is known about the social disparities that make someone vulnerable to trafficking. This project examines human trafficking from a preventive focus, using data from a case study of service providers working with at-risk populations in the Kansas City, MO-KS area. The research team conducted 42 in-depth interviews with service providers working in the medical, educational, legal, and social services sectors from 2013 to 2016. Participants identified risk factors that could make someone vulnerable to labor or sexual exploitation. These factors clustered into four key areas: economic insecurity, housing insecurity, education, and migration. The research findings also suggest that human trafficking may be driven by an accumulation of risk factors that move vulnerable persons closer to labor exploitation and sex trafficking, fitting with a chain-of-risk model. We propose a model that reconceives of trafficking as a continuum that includes a range of vulnerabilities, violence, and traumas. In order to address human trafficking, policy makers and advocates need to focus on upstream prevention factors to address vulnerabilities that can lead to sex and labor exploitation.

Human trafficking justice centers on the "Three Ps" model of prevention, protection, and prosecution. While protection and prosecution efforts have been moderately successful, prevention remains elusive, as "upstream" structural factorsclass, gender, and sexuality inequalities-remain difficult to target. Individuals who are affected by these factors are not fully served within linear service frameworks. Based on a 12-month study in Kansas City, we find that service providers recognize the limitations of a "one-size-fits all" approach. Using a public health model, our research team conducted a public health surveillance, explored risk and protective factors, and facilitated organizational self-assessments of services. Our findings support a prevention approach that supports a survivor-centered model, which creates new, nonlinear or queered avenues of agency and community for trafficking survivors. This model allows survivors to make use of services in moments of vulnerability and opt out of others in moments of resilience. Given the systematic cuts in funding that have affected service providers, this research contends that prevention is cheaper, more effective, and more ethical than relying on prosecutions to curb trafficking. Developing a model that fosters survivor empowerment is a key step toward individual justice and survivor resilience for vulnerable and marginalized populations.

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Research on human trafficking in the U.S. has centered overwhelmingly on coastal regions, border states, and urban hubs. In an attempt to understand perceptions of exploitation and human trafficking more broadly, this paper focuses on frontline workers in the Midwest. Service providers in the legal/law enforcement, medical, non-profit, social service, and foster care sectors often encounter exploited or trafficked persons in their work. Their perceptions offer a unique insight into how trafficking may manifest and how frontline workers interface with vulnerable, exploited, or trafficked persons seeking resources or assistance. Using survey data from 667 participants across two Midwestern states, we find important similarities in perceived trafficking warning signs and risk factors, as well as differences in how these providers can address their clients' immediate needs. We present these findings through both descriptive statistical summaries of questions regarding micro-level and macro-level trafficking factors and qualitative data from a set of open-ended survey questions. Results indicate the need for better site-specific policy to address the nuances of anti-trafficking work across the Midwest.

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