research questions human trafficking

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Human Trafficking

NIJ funds research on human trafficking and evaluation of promising practices. The overall emphasis for NIJ’s research lies on:

• Strengthening the science of measuring the prevalence of human trafficking
• Preventing trafficking
• Improving the identification, investigation, and prosecution of traffickers
• Identifying best practices for identifying and providing services to victims.

While NIJ focuses on human trafficking as it occurs in the United States, it draws on research findings from around the world. On this page, find links to articles, awards, events, publications, and multimedia related to human trafficking.

Articles Published by NIJ

• A Practical Guide to Interviewing Potential Human Trafficking Victims
• Evaluating Technology-Based Services for Victims of Crime
• Comparing Violent Extremism and Terrorism to Other Forms of Targeted Violence

Listen to a Podcast on Human Trafficking

Events and trainings.

• Responding to Sexual Assault Victims of Color
• Advancing Research Initiatives and Combatting the Human Trafficking Epidemic
• Cradle to Cane: Investigation of Crimes Against Vulnerable Victims

Publications

• Identifying High-Priority Needs to Improve the Measurement and Application of Human Trafficking Prevalence Estimates
• Leveraging Gaming to Enhance Knowledge Graphs for Explainable Generative AI Applications
• View related awards
• Find sites with statistics related to: Human trafficking

Find statistics related to human trafficking from the Bureau of Justice Statistics

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

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Human Trafficking

Resources & research, child victims and witnesses support materials: human trafficking.

View best practices for a justice system response to children and youth who are victims or witnesses of human trafficking. These materials, written for young survivors, feature characters who explain how the justice system works in a developmentally appropriate way.

Available in English, African French, Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese (simplified), Spanish, and Vietnamese.

View these materials Watch a video about the materials

Publications and Products

Ovc and ovc-sponsored publications and products, general resources, labor trafficking, sex trafficking, ovc trafficking information management system reports.

Office for Victims of Crime TIMS Snapshot Report, July 2018–June 2019: Services for Victims of Human Trafficking , Office for Victims of Crime, April 2020

Office for Victims of Crime TIMS Snapshot Report, July 2017–June 2018: Services for Victims of Human Trafficking , Office for Victims of Crime, April 2020

Office for Victims of Crime TIMS Snapshot Report, July 2016–June 2017: Services for Victims of Human Trafficking , Office for Victims of Crime, April 2020

Office for Victims of Crime TIMS Snapshot Report, July 2015–June 2016: Enhanced Collaborative Model to Combat Human Trafficking Program , Office for Victims of Crime, September 2017

Office for Victims of Crime TIMS Snapshot Report, July 2015–June 2016: Comprehensive Services for All Victims of Human Trafficking Program , Office for Victims of Crime, September 2017

Office for Victims of Crime TIMS Snapshot Report, July 2015–June 2016: Services for Victims of Human Trafficking , Office for Victims of Crime, September 2017

Office for Victims of Crime TIMS Snapshot Report, July 2015–June 2016: Specialized Services for Victims of Human Trafficking Program , Office for Victims of Crime, September 2017

Office for Victims of Crime Snapshot Report: Data Summary From OVC’s Trafficking Information Management System (TIMS), January 1 through December 31, 2012 , Office for Victims of Crime, March 2016

Office of Justice Programs (OJP) and OJP-Sponsored Publications

Practices for Law Enforcement Interviews of Potential Human Trafficking Victims: A Scoping Review , National Institute of Justice, July 2024

Improving Identification, Prevalence Estimation, and Earlier Intervention for Victims of Labor and Sex Trafficking: A Lessons Learned Report , National Institute of Justice-Sponsored, May 2024

Collaboration and Challenges in Antitrafficking Task Forces: Lessons Learned from the Enhanced Collaborative Model Task Forces to Combat Human Trafficking , National Institute of Justice-Sponsored, June 2022 

Recommendations for Practitioners Evaluation of the Enhanced Collaborative Model Task Forces to Combat Human Trafficking , National Institute of Justice-Sponsored, June 2022

Findings from an Evaluation of the Enhanced Collaborative Model Task Forces to Combat Human Trafficking , National Institute of Justice-Sponsored, January 2022

Evaluation of the Enhanced Collaborative Model to Combat Human Trafficking, Technical Report , National Institute of Justice-Sponsored, 2021

Enhanced Collaborative Model to Combat Human Trafficking , Bureau of Justice Assistance-Sponsored, January 2020

Alternative Forms of Justice for Human Trafficking Survivors: Considering Procedural, Restorative, and Transitional Justice , National Institute of Justice-Sponsored, March 2018

Comparing Narratives of Justice: How Survivors, Criminal Justice Stakeholders, and Service Providers Perceive Justice in Human Trafficking Cases , National Institute of Justice-Sponsored, March 2018

Delivering Justice for Human Trafficking Survivors: Implications for Practice , National Institute of Justice-Sponsored, March 2018

Justice in Their Own Words: Perceptions and Experiences of (In)Justice among Human Trafficking Survivors , National Institute of Justice-Sponsored, March 2018 

Bending Towards Justice: Perceptions of Justice among Human Trafficking Survivors , National Institute of Justice-Sponsored, January 2018

Capturing Human Trafficking Victimization Through Crime Reporting , National Institute of Justice-Sponsored, 2018

Evaluation of Strategies to Stabilize and Integrate Adult Survivors of Human Trafficking to the United States , National Institute of Justice-Sponsored, April 2016

Understanding the Trafficking of Children for the Purposes of Labor in the United States , National Institute of Justice-Sponsored, 2024

Understanding and Characterizing Labor Trafficking Among U.S. Citizen Victims , National Institute of Justice, April 2022

Labor Trafficking in North Carolina: A Statewide Survey Using Multistage Sampling , National Institute of Justice-Sponsored, 2018

Indicators of Sex Trafficking in Online Escort Ads , National Institute of Justice-Sponsored, October 2022

Understanding the Perspective of the Victim: Recognizing the Complexity of Sex Trafficking Situations , Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention-Sponsored, October 2017

Missing Children, State Care, and Child Sex Trafficking Engaging the Judiciary in Building a Collaborative Response , Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention-Sponsored, June 2015

Publications From Other Federal Offices and Agencies

Federal Resources to Aid in Labor Trafficking Investigations , Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, July 2024

Housing Needs of Survivors of Human Trafficking Study , U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, February 2024

National Human Trafficking Prevention Framework: A Public Health Approach to Preventing Human Trafficking , U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, February 2024

Economic Empowerment for People Who Have Experienced Human Trafficking: A Guide for Anti-Trafficking Service Providers , Administration of Children and Families, October 2023

Recent Labor Trafficking Cases and Trends , Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, August 2023

National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking , U.S. Department of Justice, January 2022

National Advisory Committee on the Sex Trafficking of Children and Youth in the United States: Best Practices and Recommendations for States , National Advisory Committee on the Sex Trafficking of Children and Youth in the United States, September 2020

Senior Policy Operating Group Public Awareness and Outreach Committee Guide For Public Awareness Materials (non-binding) , February 2020, President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons

Toolkit for Building Survivor-Informed Organizations , February 2018, Office of Trafficking in Persons-sponsored

Adult Human Trafficking Screening Tool and Guide , January 2018, Office of Trafficking in Persons-sponsored

Domestic Victims of Human Trafficking Demonstration Projects , U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, September 2017

Combating Trafficking Native Youth Toolkit on Human Trafficking , Administration for Native Americans and Office on Trafficking in Persons, 2017

Human Trafficking Leadership Academy Survivor-Informed Practice: A Self-Guided Assessment Tool , Office on Trafficking in Persons- and the Office on Women’s Health-sponsored, 2017

Federal Strategic Action Plan on Services for Victims of Human Trafficking in the United States: Fiscal Year 2015 Status Report , Administration for Children and Families, November 2016

A Victim-Centered Approach to Sex Trafficking Cases , Federal Bureau of Investigation, November 2015

Resources and Statistics

Related resources.

CrimeSolutions CrimeSolutions is a searchable online database of evidence-based programs covering a range of justice-related topics. The site is a tool to understand, access, and integrate scientific evidence about programs into programmatic and policy decisions.

Legal Services Corporation Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is a private, nonprofit corporation established by Congress in 1974. LSC makes grants to independent local programs across the country to provide civil legal services to Americans without considerable financial means. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act granted the LSC the responsibility to extend program services to those eligible for T and U Visas.

The Vicarious Trauma Toolkit Research shows that vicarious trauma, when left unaddressed, can lead to staff burnout, turnover, stress, and a lesser quality of services for victims. This OVC toolkit offers guidance to help organizations strengthen their ability to address work-related exposure to trauma. The toolkit contains a state-of-the-art repository with nearly 500 resources for the fields of victim services, emergency medical services, fire services, law enforcement, and other allied professions. The toolkit includes a Blueprint for a Vicarious Trauma-Informed Organization to help organizations begin the process of becoming more trauma-informed.

VictimLaw VictimLaw, a comprehensive online database of federal, state, and Tribal victims’ rights law, is supported by OVC. It includes victims’ rights provisions that pertain specifically to victims of human trafficking in several categories of rights that are most commonly enacted from state to state.

Grants.gov This "one-stop storefront" provides a unified process for all customers of federal grants to find funding opportunities and apply for funding. Grants.gov provides access to all discretionary grants offered by 26 federal grant-making agencies, including the U.S. Departments of Justice, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, and Labor.

Federal Government Resources

In addition to OVC, many Federal Government agencies are working to combat human trafficking. While not a comprehensive list of all anti-trafficking efforts, the below list provides a summary of many of these initiatives.

U.S. Department of Justice

The U.S. Department of Justice is committed to a collaborative approach to combating human trafficking and improving services for victims. Visit the U.S. Department of Justice's Human Trafficking website and view the information below to learn more.

Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) CEOS works to combat incidences of child exploitation and sex trafficking of minors. Issues under the CEOS umbrella include child pornography, illegal interstate or international transportation of minors, international parental abduction, computer-related exploitation of children, and child victimization on federal and Indian lands.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) The FBI is responsible for investigating human trafficking. The FBI also runs the Innocence Lost National Initiative, focusing on sex trafficking of children within the United States.

Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit The U.S. Department of Justice’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit works closely with Assistant United States Attorneys and law enforcement agencies to streamline fast-moving trafficking investigations, ensure consistent application of trafficking statutes, and identify multijurisdictional trafficking networks.

National Institute of Justice The National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, funds research on—

• the nature and extent of human trafficking,
• detecting and investigating traffickers,
• prosecuting traffickers, and
• services for trafficking victims.

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, implements training and capacity-building initiatives related to the commercial sexual exploitation of children. The office funds the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which helps prevent child abduction and sexual exploitation; find missing children; and operates a toll free missing children's hotline. The office also funds projects to investigate the Internet-related crimes of child pornography and enticement through the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force program.

U.S. Agency for International Development

The U.S. Agency for International Development supports international programs to prevent trafficking, protect and assist victims, and support prosecutions.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Office of Family Violence Prevention and Services The Office of Family Violence Prevention and Services at the Administration of Children & Families, administers the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, the primary federal funding stream dedicated to the support of emergency shelter and related assistance for victims of domestic violence and their children.

Office of Refugee Resettlement The Office of Refugee Resettlement, at the Administration of Children & Families, helps refugees and other special populations, such as adult victims of severe forms of trafficking, obtain economic and social self-sufficiency in the United States.

Office on Trafficking in Persons The Office on Trafficking in Persons, at the Administration of Children & Families, seeks to create pathways to freedom for victims and those at risk of human trafficking by—

• developing anti-trafficking strategies, policies, and programs to prevent human trafficking,
• empowering health and human services organizations to respond to human trafficking,
• increasing victim identification and access to services, and
• strengthening health and well-being outcomes of survivors.

Visit the Office on Trafficking in Persons' Map Domestic Victims of Human Trafficking Program Grantees to locate anti-trafficking service providers funded by this office.

Runaway and Homeless Youth Program Through the Runaway and Homeless Youth Program, the Family and Youth Services Bureau, Administration of Children & Families, supports street outreach, emergency shelters, and longer-term transitional living and maternity group home programs to serve and protect these young people.

U.S. Department of State

Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons conducts awareness-raising activities, diplomacy with other countries, and funding for international anti-trafficking initiatives.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Blue Campaign The Blue Campaign provides information on training and outreach, how traffickers operate, and victim assistance to help keep the public informed.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services adjudicates applications for T and U visas, which are available to foreign national victims of trafficking. Lawyers and advocates may check on the status of an already submitted case by calling the Violence Against Women Act Unit Helpline at 802–527–4888.

U.S. Department of Defense

Combating Trafficking in Persons The Combating Trafficking in Persons Program Office establishes policy and ensures that the services, combatant commands, and defense agencies have the necessary tools to prevent trafficking.

U.S. Department of Education

National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments This Center offers a Human Trafficking in America’s Schools guide to help school officials understand how human trafficking impacts schools; recognize the indicators of possible child trafficking; and develop policies, protocols, and partnerships to address and prevent the exploitation of children.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

HUD's Continuum of Care Program —

• promotes communitywide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness,
• provides funding for efforts by nonprofit providers and state and local governments to quickly rehouse homeless individuals and families while minimizing the trauma,
• promotes access to and effect use of mainstream programs by homeless individuals and families, and
• optimizes self-sufficiency among individuals and families experiencing homelessness.

U.S. Department of Labor

Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor & Human Trafficking The Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor & Human Trafficking publishes reports on international child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking. The Office also funds programs to combat international child labor.

Wage and Hour Division The Wage and Hour Division enforces federal labor laws including the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Workers Protection Act. The Division assists with human trafficking investigations involving the violation of these laws.

The Division's Timesheet App allows users to record the hours that they work and includes a function to calculate overtime pay. The app is available to download in both English and Spanish.

Employment & Training Administration The Employment & Training Administration sponsors CareerOneStop . This program offers services such as job-search, job-placement assistance, job-counseling services, and more to human trafficking survivors.

U.S. Department of Transportation

The Department of Transportation trains transportation employees and the traveling public to recognize and report possible instances of human trafficking.

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Anti-discrimination laws enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission , particularly those prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, and sex, are an integral part of the fight against human trafficking.

Human Trafficking Statistics

It is difficult to measure the magnitude of human trafficking in the United States. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation , due to the nature of human trafficking, many of these crimes are never identified by local, state, Tribal, and federal law enforcement agencies that investigate them.

Although statistics are available, they provides an incomplete picture of this complex issue. A National Institute of Justice-funded study “found that inadequate victim identification was a problem not only for law enforcement but also for victim service providers.”

Existing data on human trafficking focuses on identified victims. However in order for researchers to make accurate estimations on the prevalence of human trafficking, law enforcement, victim service providers, social services, and others need to be able to better identify victims.

View OVC human trafficking grantee data on services provided to trafficking victims. Data from OVC human trafficking grantees is available on total clients served, new clients served, services most frequently provided to clients, and more.

Note that data in these reports only represent services provided by OVC-funded human trafficking grantees and does not represent services provided to all human trafficking victims in the United States, nor do all human trafficking victims seek or receive services.

For further information, view the following resources.

• Bureau of Justice Statistics’ Human Trafficking page: provides data as required by the Combat Human Trafficking Act of 2015.  
• Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program site: provides annual data on human trafficking reported by law enforcement agencies.  
• National Institute of Justice’s Human Trafficking page: includes research on the nature and extent of human trafficking.  
• Attorney General’s Annual Trafficking in Persons Report to Congress : includes victimization data related to government efforts to combat trafficking.  
• Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Annual Report : provides estimates on the prevalence of human trafficking around the globe.

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Human Trafficking Health Research: Progress and Future Directions

Phuongthao d le.

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Keywords: human trafficking, sex trafficking, labor trafficking, child trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation, health, mental health, health research, public health, children, adults, human rights

Human trafficking is a global public health concern. A growing body of literature has examined issues ranging from the physical, emotional and sexual violence experienced by victims, to the increased vulnerability to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV among individuals trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation (CSE), to the immense psychosocial challenges for survivors as they attempt to reintegrate into their communities. In a recent systematic review published in 2016, 1 which updated a systematic review conducted only four years prior, 2 researchers found almost a three-fold increase in the number of publications retrieved from the major health research databases, indicating the increasing interest to understand the health impacts of human trafficking. In the same vein, this issue of Behavioral Medicine showcased eight articles that explored a diverse set of health outcomes and research methodologies, with the goal of advancing the science on the biopsychosocial aspects of human trafficking.

In the article by Hopper and Gonzalez, the authors compared psychological symptoms in survivors of sex and labor trafficking. The study derived data from psychological evaluations of participants (n=131) served by REACH, an anti-trafficking project that also provides individual and group intervention with domestic and foreign national trafficking survivors in the U.S. Analyses found high levels of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among the study participants, and that although the differences were nonsignificant, sex trafficking survivors reported more pre-trafficking childhood abuse, sexual and physical violence during trafficking, and worse psychological symptoms (including comorbid depression and PTSD) than labor trafficking survivors. PTSD symptoms were exacerbated by exposure to sex trafficking versus labor trafficking, regardless of childhood abuse exposure. This is one of the few published studies that contains data on labor trafficking survivors, and one that also examines the impact on transgender individuals. The study found that compared to female and male survivors, transgender survivors reported significantly more PTSD symptoms and had higher rates of qualifying for PTSD diagnosis. The article also provided important empirical evidence of the suspected high rates of Complex PTSD among trafficking survivors, reporting that the majority of the survivors described at least one symptom of Complex PTSD, and two-thirds of survivors met the criteria for multiple categories of Complex PTSD. These findings confirm the suggestion from the literature that survivors of trafficking experience a multitude of complex psychological issues and that some subgroups are more vulnerable than others.

As illustrated by the next two articles, qualitative research methods can provide a deeper understanding of some of the complex health issues experienced by trafficking survivors. Rajaram and Tidball set out to illuminate the “lived experiences” of a sample (n=22) of sex trafficking survivors in Nebraska, U.S. The themes that emerged from these in-depth interviews highlighted the lack of awareness that still exists about human trafficking, especially in small towns, as well as the current inadequacies of services provided to trafficking survivors. Gerassi’s article, which drew from interviews with 30 women who were impact by CSE and 20 service providers affiliated with an anti-trafficking organization and an addiction treatment center in a Midwestern city in the U.S., also noted such deficiencies. In particular, the sobriety requirements (e.g., women had to test negative for drugs and alcohol in order to be admitted; participants were evicted from the facilities if they did not remain sober) created many barriers for the participants as they sought substance use treatment. For example, to test negative, they would have gone through a period of time of not using drugs (and for the drug to clear in the urine), which can be extremely difficult for women who were still involved ‘in the streets.’ Different approaches to aid recovery and to prevent recidivism among trafficking survivors are sorely needed.

Recovery can indeed be challenging for many survivors of trafficking, as they have limited resources and capacities to cope with the many barriers posed to them in this process. The study by Okech and colleagues explored some of these factors affecting trafficking survivors’ reintegration. Using a conditional process model, the authors examined the role of social support, dysfunctional coping, and community reintegration on PTSD among former participants of a program for at risk and survivors of trafficking in Ghana. As hypothesized, analyses revealed that community reintegration indirectly influenced PTSD through social support, and that coping moderated the relationship between social support and PTSD. This is the first known study that used quantitative measures to examine the relationship between social support and (dysfunctional) coping on mental health outcomes among trafficked individuals. These findings provide further credence to prior qualitative reports and studies that have noted the importance of ensuring adequate social support among survivors of trafficking in order to facilitate their successful reintegration.

A group of survivors who can be especially impacted by trafficking are children and adolescents. Yet, relatively few studies have included them. Four articles in this issue of Behavioral Medicine explored the needs of this vulnerable population. My colleagues and I conducted a systematic review of the health problems facing commercially sexually exploited or sex trafficked children and youth, focusing on those within the U.S. We found 27 studies that satisfied our inclusion and exclusion criteria, and they demonstrated that trafficked children face a range of issues including substance use, mental health, sexual and reproductive health, and physical and other health-related issues such as childhood abuse and healthcare utilization. In addition to providing a comprehensive summary of the findings from the included studies, we also discussed health outcomes and methodological challenges that warrant further research. The two articles that followed touched on some of these issues.

Cook et al . conducted a retrospective case review of court files of commercially sexually exploited/trafficked youth (n=184) admitted to a California specialty trafficking court, and described the mental health and substance use profiles, including treatment for these issues, of this understudied population. They also examined the relationships between pre-trafficking abuse and mental health problems and/or substance use. They found that the majority of these participants had documented mental health problems and prior illicit drug use, those with known substance use had higher rates of mental health problems than those without documented substance use, and compared to those with no documented history of abuse, those with a known abuse history reported higher rates of substance use. The article also highlighted two important issues. First, the study’s finding that almost half of the participants reported ever being hospitalized for a mental health problem suggests that hospitalizations due to mental health issues “represent a critical opportunity for detecting and addressing [youth] involvement in CSE.” Second, by illustrating that prior abuse was related to mental health problems and substance use, this study bolstered the call for a comprehensive, trauma-informed care approach.

A critical component of a trauma-informed approach is an understanding of how different types of trauma are manifested and the effects of multiple traumas. The study by Ottisova and colleagues explored this aspect. Using data obtained from a large database of patients who came in contact with a secondary mental health service provider in England, the authors compared Complex PTSD symptoms between trafficked children with a diagnosis of PTSD (n=11) and matched non-trafficked children with a history of multiple traumas (n=21) or single trauma (n=9). The trafficked children endorsed the highest average number of Complex PTSD symptoms, followed by the non-trafficked multiple trauma group, then the non-trafficked single trauma group; however, differences between the trafficked children and the non-trafficked children with multiple trauma were not statistically significant. The study also included analyses of Complex PTSD symptom clusters, which revealed that alterations in emotional regulation was the most frequently reported cluster, and that the trafficked children and the multiple trauma children also endorsed with high proportions in other clusters including dissociation, alterations in relations, alterations in meaning, affect dysregulation, and altered self-perceptions. These findings confirm the suspected presence of Complex PTSD in trafficked children, and indicate the need to conduct more extensive research to understand the idiosyncrasies of mental health issues among trafficked children, as well as how the experience of this group compare to those with different or multiple traumas such as childhood abuse, domestic violence, and torture.

In the last article, Rothman and colleagues discussed seven ethical and practical challenges they have encountered in collecting research data from commercially sexually exploited children (CSEC). These seven issues fall under the themes of data quality and the impact of research on participants, researchers, and others. Some of these challenges - age of research participants, informed consent from parents or guardians, over-interrogation of youth, and concerns that research participation may further exploit youth - are specific to the CSEC population. However, others - such as navigating the role of researcher and advocate, and secondary trauma and burnout - also apply to the larger field of trafficking health research. These types of reflections are rare in academic journals, but they should be encouraged so that we, in the words of the authors, can “expand the capacity of fellow researchers to collect primary data from [trafficking] survivors with rigor and responsiveness.”

The articles included in this issue of Behavioral Medicine each made meaningful contributions to the study of trafficking and health. And collectively, they highlight several areas that deserve priority considerations in future research efforts:

Use multiple research methods, including qualitative research. The two qualitative studies by Rajaram and Tidball and by Gerassi illustrated that these in-depth analyses can provide a deeper understanding of health-related issues experienced by trafficked individuals, and that some insights cannot be captured by quantitative data alone.

Incorporate survivors’ voices and inputs. Survivors’ experiences, as told from their perspectives, can shine the spotlight on issues that are missed by researchers and others. For example, in-depth interviews with survivors in Gerassi’s study revealed that some trafficking survivors employed creative strategies to overcome barriers and challenges, demonstrating that even those who have been victimized and marginalized can be resourceful and resilient.

Address the complex, cumulative mental health impacts of human trafficking. This includes research that examines the presence of comorbid mental health issues as well as qualitatively different psychological symptoms that have previously been under-explored, such as Complex PTSD.

Adopt a trauma-informed approach. Several articles underscored this need. Although this recommendation was directed at service providers, researchers can play an important role in promoting the trauma-informed approach. For example, they can explain how the current care models are failing to meet the needs of survivors, as Rajaram and Tidball and Gerrasi have done, or researchers can incorporate analytic designs that can arrive at a more nuanced understanding of the specific effects of different and multiple types of trauma, as Ottisova and colleagues have demonstrated in their study.

Examine multiple health outcomes and how different health issues are potentially interconnected. Much of the trafficking literature have focused only on single health issues, but trafficked individuals can certainly experience comorbid health conditions. And as Cook and colleagues illustrated in their study, an understanding of the interplay of different types of health issues (in their case, substance use and mental health problems) can greatly enhance the interpretation of the data.

Explore and compare health needs of different survivor groups. The majority of trafficking research have focused on sex trafficking and have included mostly adult survivors. Little is known about the experiences of survivors of other forms of trafficking, such as labor trafficking. The study by Hopper and Gonzalez added to the scarce number of studies of labor trafficking, showing that differences likely exist between sex and labor trafficking survivors. However, much more research on the health needs of this population is needed. Similarly, more inclusion of child survivors of trafficking in future studies, and comparative analyses between adult versus child trafficking survivors, can enhance the understanding of the potentially distinct experiences of these survivor groups.

Apply advanced statistical analysis techniques to improve the understanding of the mechanisms by which human trafficking can influence health. For example, in Okech et al .’s study, the authors used a conditional process model within a structural equation modeling framework to examine the potential moderators and mediators of PTSD. Similar efforts should be pursued.

Delineate the relationships between childhood abuse, trafficking trauma, and health outcomes, especially mental health. Prior studies as well as several of the articles included in this issue have linked childhood abuse to vulnerability to trafficking, especially among children. However, more studies that examine the dynamics of these relationships - such as the potential causal pathways - are needed, so that future efforts can be directed on where, when, and how to intervene.

The collection of articles in this issue of Behavioral Medicine comprised but a small sample of the research being conducted on the biopsychosocial issues associated with human trafficking. They offered a view into the paramount task of documenting and understanding the range and complexities of the health impacts of trafficking. However, they also provided some concrete, constructive data and insights to advance trafficking health research. These contributions are crucial, as only with an evidence-based understanding of the issues, derived from appropriate sources and research methods, can we design intervention efforts that can achieve the most effective and far-reaching impact for those affected by human trafficking.

Acknowledgments

The author would like to acknowledge the support of training grant T32MH103210 from the National Institute of Mental Health.

• 1. Ottisova L, Hemmings S, Howard LM, Zimmerman C, Oram S. Prevalence and risk of violence and the mental, physical and sexual health problems associated with human trafficking: An updated systematic review. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences. 2016;25(4):317–341. [ DOI ] [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• 2. Oram S, Stöckl H, Busza J, Howard LM, Zimmerman C. Prevalence and Risk of Violence and the Physical, Mental, and Sexual Health Problems Associated with Human Trafficking: Systematic Review. PLOS Medicine. 2012;9(5):e1001224. [ DOI ] [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
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• What are the root causes of human trafficking?
• Are diplomatic solutions to human trafficking enough to affect change?
• What is the impact of human trafficking in the United States?
• What impact has  The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000  had?
• Based on what I have learned from my research, what do I think about the issue of human trafficking?

Explore Your Topic Further

When you are ready to explore and answer your research questions, use these databases below.

• Gale Databases This link opens in a new window Search over 35 databases simultaneously that cover almost any topic you need to research at MJC. Gale databases include articles previously published in journals, magazines, newspapers, books, and other media outlets.
• EBSCOhost Databases This link opens in a new window Search 22 databases simultaneously that cover almost any topic you need to research at MJC. EBSCO databases include articles previously published in journals, magazines, newspapers, books, and other media outlets.
• War and Terrorism Collection This link opens in a new window This small Gale collection offers insight into conflicts: their causes, their impact, and how they are perceived on a global scale
• CountryWatch This link opens in a new window Use the CountryWire feature of this database to read daily news coverage for all countries and up-to-date articles from regional news wire services across the globe to gain a non-U.S. perspective on international issues
• World News Digest This link opens in a new window Brings together and enhances nearly seven decades of news from the Facts On File World News Digest in print. This archival record of domestic and international news covers all major political, social, and economic events since November 1940 to the present and is updated weekly

Why search here? Use Access World News when you need to find current news stories. It's especially useful for local and California news. This is your source for The Modesto Bee from January 1989 to the present.

What's included: Articles from of local, regional, and national U.S. newspapers as well as full-text content of key international sources.  It includes in-depth special reports and hot topics from around the country.   

Watch this short video to learn how to find The Modesto Bee .

Videos on Human Trafficking

Find videos and documentaries about human trafficking in our streaming video databases.

• Films on Demand This link opens in a new window more... less... Instructions for embedding Films on Demand into Canvas .
• Docuseek2 This link opens in a new window

Use the Web for Research

Search the web.

Use Google Scholar to find academically-appropriate Web sites.

Selected Websites

• Trafficking in Persons Report From the U.S. Dept. of State, The Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report is the U.S. Government’s principal diplomatic tool to engage foreign governments on human trafficking. It is also the world’s most comprehensive resource of governmental anti-human trafficking efforts.
• Beyond a Snapshot: Preventing Human Trafficking in the Global Economy An article by Janie Chuang that "seeks to reframe trafficking as a migratory response to current globalizing socioeconomic trends."
• Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 An act to combat trafficking in persons, especially into the sex trade, slavery, and involuntary servitude, to reauthorize certain Federal programs to prevent violence against women, and for other purposes.
• Polaris Project Polaris Project is one of the leading organizations in the global fight against human trafficking and modern-day slavery.
• Sex Trafficking: Local Resources, Fact, Warning Signs and Help WEAVE is the primary provider of crisis intervention services for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in Sacramento County. Their mission is to promote safe and healthy relationships and support survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and sex trafficking.

Selected Library eBooks

Cite Your Sources

Your instructor should tell you which citation style they want you to use. Click on the appropriate link below to learn how to format your paper and cite your sources according to a particular style.

• Chicago Style
• ASA & Other Citation Styles

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• Last Updated: Oct 2, 2024 11:48 AM
• URL: https://libguides.mjc.edu/humantrafficking

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