Analysis of geographical migration networks of bride trafficking crime from 2000 to 2018 in China

Abstract

The objective of this article was to analyze the spatial patterns of bride trafficking crime in China. Based on the origin–destination (OD) information of 2273 cases, three levels (provincial-level, city-level, and district/county-level) of bride trafficking networks were constructed. By using social network analysis, the geographical migration mechanism of bride trafficking on different scales was revealed: (i) Bride trafficking showed a macroscopic pattern from the border areas to the inland areas, especially for the ‘foreign brides’. (ii) Short-distance migration was more likely to occur for the brides with mental illnesses rather the healthy ones. (iii) A small number of core cities controlled a large share of trafficking crime. (iv) The distribution of bride trafficking hotspots was related to traffic conditions and poverty to some extent. Based on these findings, targeted strategies for different types of bride trafficking crime were proposed. The analytical methods used in this study could be applied to other crimes like drug trafficking and cargo smuggling.