The Trafficking Continuum: Service Providers’ Perspectives on Vulnerability, Exploitation, and Trafficking

Abstract

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.

Examining Commonly Reported Sex Trafficking Indicators From Practitioners’ Perspectives: Findings From a Pilot Study

“…This was particularly relevant for practitioners who served U.S.-born adults, in which the mental health domain was more salient. The present study supports the work of Schwarz (2017) who developed a report based on survey data from 722 general service providers in the Midwest and found mental health indicators were among the strongest indicators of sex trafficking. While Schwarz (2017) surveyed all providers, we limited our specialized sample to those who have known experience in working with trafficked people.…”

“…Furthermore, the extant research in this area may only be applicable to particular subpopulations and/or specific geographic areas, specifically urban east coast and west coast areas. Collectively, gaps in the field currently include an overall lack of evaluation research, as well as lack of attention to distinctions by international and domestic trafficking, or minors compared to adults, and research examining the Midwest is particularly lacking in indicators-based data (Schwarz, 2017). This pilot study of 86 respondents in a large Midwestern city attempts to explore these gaps from the perspective of social service, health care, and justice system practitioners who work with trafficked people through the following research questions:…”

“…The survey was developed by drawing indicators from peer reviewed journal articles and gray literature (Andretta et al, 2016;Besoplova, Morgan, & Coverdale, 2016;Department of Homeland Security, 2010, n.d.;Grace et al, 2012;Hughes, 2003;ILO, 2009;Macy & Graham, 2012;NHTRC, n.d.;Polaris Project, n.d.;Salisbury et al, 2015;Schwarz, 2017;Schwarz at al., 2016;Simich et al, 2014;U.S. Department of State, n.d.;U.S.…”

Examining Social Service Providers’ Representation of Trafficking Victims: A Feminist Postcolonial Lens

“…Although I by no means dismiss the role of individual abusers and traffickers in causing harm, such as physical and psychological trauma, to migrant women or trafficking victims, the narrative of trafficking remains incomplete if we do not give equal attention to many structural inequalities and oppressions that migrants, especially migrant women, are facing (Cheng, 2008; Mai, 2013) as well as to how these structural inequalities have been greatly shaped by the colonial domination and the lingering effects of colonialism (Hua & Nigorizawa, 2010). According to a recent study with service providers, many factors, such as financial and housing instability, education inequality, and language barriers and social isolation experienced during migration, can cumulatively contribute to one’s vulnerability for labor and sex exploitation, potentially leading to a trafficking situation (Schwarz et al, 2019).…”

“…To ensure that victims of human trafficking receive sufficient support, both international organizations (e.g., the UN) and regional governments have been committed to securing policies and funding for victim protection (Limoncelli, 2016). Anti-trafficking social service providers (SSPs) have been taking on the critical task of providing victim support and services, such as victim identification, mental health counseling, case management, and housing (Heffernan & Blythe, 2014; Limoncelli, 2016; Schwarz et al, 2019; Steiner, Kynn, Stylianou, & Postmus, 2018). Mainstream media such as press and television have been playing a key role in disseminating trafficking-related news, reports, and victim stories, all of which can contribute to the public and stakeholders’ perception of human trafficking (Rodríguez-López, 2018).…”