Gendered diffusion on gendered issues: the case of human trafficking

Abstract

This study aims to identify those factors that impact the comprehensiveness of state human trafficking legislation. To do so, we propose independent effects of policy diffusion and the percentage of females in a state legislature. Building on this framework, we then suggest a process of gendered diffusion, whereby female state legislators represent a unique diffusion network for "women's interest" issues both within their own legislature, as well as across state networks. Taken together, this paper suggests that, for certain types of new issue areas, the demographic composition of state legislative chambers and the policy diffusion process are conditional on one another. This finding extends the bodies of scholarship concerning descriptive representation and policy diffusion, and presents a novel way to look at the policymaking process.

Assessing the Impact of State Human Trafficking Legislation on Criminal Justice System Outcomes

“…Human trafficking enforcement is improved when states are able to secure external resources and have more police officers available for investigations. In line with research suggesting that states pass more comprehensive forms of human trafficking legislation when there are more women in the state legislature (Wittmer and Bouché ; Bouché and Wittmer ), here we find that having more women in the state legislature promotes enforcement of antitrafficking laws, specifically the prosecution of human trafficking suspects.…”

“…Human trafficking has been historically framed as a women's rights problem (Farrell and Fahy ). Previous research confirms that female legislators play a powerful role in the passage of legislation, such as antitrafficking laws, that represent “women's issues” (Bouché and Wittmer ). More attention is needed here to understand the mechanisms through which female legislators continue to influence antitrafficking reforms through the promotion of prosecution.…”

“…In addition to the federal laws on human trafficking, all states have some type of law addressing the issue. Taking their lead from the TVPA, state legislators began to pass human trafficking legislation in 2003, and most of these first laws focused on the codification of state‐level human trafficking crimes (Bouché and Wittmer ). Between 2003 and 2013 all states criminalized the act of human trafficking (see Figure ) .…”

“…Female legislators have taken the lead in promoting the passage of human trafficking legislation at the state level (Wittmer and Bouché ; Bouché and Wittmer ; see also Schönhöfer , illustrating the importance of female parliamentarians in the passage of European human trafficking laws). Scholars posit two primary explanations for why female legislators have pushed the legislative agenda on human trafficking: (1) human trafficking is constitutive of other policy issues, such as violence against women and women's health, that have traditionally fallen within the “women's issue” domain; and (2) interest groups and the media have focused on the aspects of human trafficking that disproportionately impact female victims, specifically sex trafficking (Farrell and Fahy ).…”

“…However, the issue of human trafficking is a valence issue that enjoys strong bipartisan support within legislatures, although Democrats and Republicans may support it for different reasons. “While Democrats push for state investments and civil remedies, the compromise for Republicans is tough criminal penalties” (Bouché and Wittmer , 26). Therefore, on the one hand, a Democratic majority in the state legislature is more likely to support the enforcement of human trafficking laws that advance social welfare and civil rights through the support of victims.…”