Framing an Emerging Issue: How U.S. Print and Broadcast News Media Covered Sex Trafficking, 2008–2012

Representations of Transnational Human Trafficking: A Critical Review

“…The stereotypical global victim of trafficking is '[a] young, naïve woman who seeks a better life away from her rural home by answering an advertisement to become a waitress or a nanny and then ends up a sex slave, repeatedly raped, brutalised, and resold to other mafia pimps' (Lobasz, 2009, p. 340): she is female (Alvarez & Alessi, 2012;Andrijasevic & Mai, 2016;Columb, 2015;De Shalit et al, 2014;de Villiers, 2016;Dijk, 2013;Duong, 2014;Farrell & Fahy, 2009;Hall, 2015;Johnston, Friedman, & Sobel, 2015;Lobasz, 2009;O'Brien, 2016;Pajnik, 2010;Plambech, 2016;Russell, 2014;Sanchez, 2016;Sanford et al, 2016;Sharma, 2005;Small, 2012;Sobel, 2016;Szörényi & Eate, 2014;Wilson & O'Brien, 2016;Yick, 2010), young (Andrijasevic & Mai, 2016;de Villiers, 2016;Dijk, 2013;Farrell & Fahy, 2009;Hall, 2015;Hua & Nigorizawa, 2010;Johnston et al, 2015;Kara, 2010;Lobasz, 2009;O'Brien, 2016;Sanchez, 2016;Sanford et al, 2016;Small, 2012;Szörényi & Eate, 2014;Wilson & O'Brien, 2016;Yick, 2010), and unwilling to per...…”

“…Alternatively, children may be identified as victims (Alvarez & Alessi, 2012;Johnston et al, 2015;Plambech, 2016;Sanford et al, 2016;Sharma, 2005;Sobel, 2014;Wilson & O'Brien, 2016); they too are portrayed as weak/vulnerable, and generally presumed blameless/trafficked against their will. Further to being common in news media and pop culture, these stereotypes are also shared by policy makers and the public (Buckley, 2009;Dando et al, 2016;Gould, 2010;Musto, 2009).…”

“…In media reporting and legislation, structural causes that leave people vulnerable to being trafficked as well as smuggled are systematically ignored (Coghlan & Wylie, 2011;Johnston et al, 2015;O'Brien, 2016;Piper et al, 2015;Sanford et al, 2016;Sharma, 2005;Steele, 2015;Szörényi & Eate, 2014;Weitzer, 2007;Wilson & O'Brien, 2016). Wilson and O'Brien (2016, pp.…”

“…The 'heroism' of 'saviours' identifies certain states, such as the USA, as the 'good guys', legitimated by their pursuit of alleviating the 'plight' of certain 'victims', conveniently glossing over the structural and global factors that put certain populations at a higher risk of exploitation than others (Alvarez & Alessi, 2012;Johnston et al, 2015;Szörényi & Eate, 2014;Weitzer, 2007;Wylie, 2016) and maintaining the economic benefits of having an exploitable, dispossessed workforce that can be policed when it is politically expedient to do so.…”

Mandatory Reporting of Human Trafficking: Potential Benefits and Risks of Harm

“…Public recognition of the scope and severity of human trafficking has grown since the late 1990s both globally and in the United States, while public and private sector responses-to deter and punish traffickers and assist trafficked persons with targeted and improved services-have increased [6,7]. There is a pressing need for effective approaches to prevent trafficking, prosecute traffickers, and protect trafficked persons.…”