Prosecution Of Traffickers Research Articles

US Anti-Trafficking Funding and the Discourse of ‘Prevention’

The United States government has positioned itself as the global exemplar in the anti-human trafficking arena, including through its unparalleled financial support for domestic and international anti-trafficking activities. How the US has allocated these funds has not previously been systematically studied. Building on original databases compiled through a review of the US Attorney General’s Annual Report to Congress on US Government Activities to Combat Trafficking in Persons for fiscal years 2017–2021, in this article, I offer a detailed analysis of US anti-trafficking funding allocations. I find that during the five-year period under review, the vast majority of US anti-trafficking funds were spent on reactive activities, including the identification, protection, and support of trafficking survivors and efforts to improve the detection, arrest, and prosecution of traffickers. In contrast, activities targeting the conditions that increase precarity, rendering certain populations at heightened risk of being trafficked, or that enable the exploitation of precarity, were relatively under-funded. When these conditions were addressed by funded activities, the targets were nearly always countries in Africa, Asia, or Latin America, perpetuating a discourse of trafficking as a social problem rooted in poor policies, practices, and inequalities seen as endemic in the Global South.

Successful Criminal Prosecutions of Sex Trafficking and Sexual Abuse of Minors: A Comparative Analysis.

Despite increased awareness of sex trafficking of minors in the U.S., prosecution of traffickers remains difficult, in part because of victim uncooperativeness. There are questions about how that uncooperativeness is expressed, whether it is evident in successfully prosecuted cases, and whether it is unique to trafficked minors or it emerges in similar age victims of sexual abuse. To provide insight relevant to these questions, we compared appellate opinions in two types of successfully prosecuted criminal cases: sex trafficking and sexual abuse of adolescent victims. In the trafficking opinions, victims were rarely described as disclosing on their own or as knowing their trafficker before the victimization. The opinions also often alluded to the trafficking victims' uncooperativeness and delinquency history, and frequently mentioned electronic evidence and prosecution experts. The sexual abuse opinions, in contrast, tended to suggest that victims' own disclosures initiated the case, perpetrators were known and trusted adults, and caregiver support during the case was common. Finally, the sexual abuse opinions never explicitly mentioned victim uncooperativeness or electronic evidence and rarely mentioned expert testimony or delinquency. The different characterizations of the two case types highlight the need for improved education concerning effective prosecution of sex crimes against minors.

Are we seeing the unseen of human trafficking? A retrospective analysis of the CTDC k-anonymized global victim of trafficking data pool in the period 2010-2020.

Human trafficking is considered a hidden global crime with unsubstantiated numbers. Despite the challenges in counting or measuring this crime, reports revealed the presence of around 40.3 million victims worldwide. Human trafficking results in severe detrimental impacts on both mental and physical health. Given the sensitivity and negative consequences of human trafficking on the global system and victims, and considering the scarce research in this area, our current study aimed at describing the (i) Sociodemographic profiles of anonymized victims, (ii) Means of control, and (iii) Purpose of trafficking, utilizing the largest anonymized and publicly available dataset on victims of human trafficking. This is a retrospective secondary analysis of the Counter-Trafficking Data Collaborative (CTDC) data pool in the period from 2010 to 2020. The utilized dataset is called the k-anonymized global victim of trafficking dataset, and it is considered the largest global dataset on victims of human trafficking. Data from the k-anonymized data pool were extracted and exported to Statistical Package for Social Sciences, SPSS® version 27.0 for Windows (IBM Corp. Version 27.0. Armonk, NY) for quality check and analysis using descriptive statistics. A total of 87003 victims of human trafficking were identified in the period from 2010 to 2020. The most age category encountered among victims was 9-17 years with 10326 victims (11.9%), followed by 30-38 years with 8562 victims (9.8%). Females comprised 70% of the sample with 60938 victims. The United States (n = 51611), Russia (n = 4570), and the Philippines (n = 1988) comprised the most countries of exploitation/trafficking. Additionally, the year 2019 witnessed the greatest number of victims registered for assistance by anti-trafficking agencies with around 21312 victims (24.5%). Concerning means of control, threats, psychological abuse, restriction of the victim's movement, taking the victim's earnings, and physical abuse were the most reported means. 42685 victims (49.1%) reported sexual exploitation as the purpose of their trafficking, followed by forced labor with 18176 victims (20.9%). Various means and methods can be used by traffickers to control the victims to be trafficked for many purposes, with sexual exploitation and forced labor being the most common ones. Global anti-trafficking efforts should be brought together in solidarity through utilizing the paradigm of protection of victims, prosecution of traffickers, prevention of trafficking, and inter-sectoral partnerships. Despite being a global concern with various reports that tried to capture the number of trafficked victims worldwide, human trafficking still has many unseen aspects that impose a significant challenge and adds to the global burden in combatting this threat.

Comparative Analysis of Human Trafficking in Caribbean and African Islands from the Annual Trafficking in Persons Report

This chapter will examine trends in human trafficking in Caribbean and African islands over the past five years as documented in the US Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report (2016–2021). The countries that will be examined include Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and the Grenadines in the Caribbean region and Cabo Verde, Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Zanzibar, Tunisia, and Bijagos, Guinea-Bissau, in Africa. This article will examine what countries in these two regions have accomplished in the areas of prosecution of traffickers, victim protection, and prevention activities, as well as discuss the challenges and shortcomings in the anti-trafficking efforts of these island countries. The chapter will discuss the common elements across these regions facilitating success and failures in combating human trafficking. The chapter will end by discussing what policy recommendations, capacity-building initiatives, and cross-regional collaborations could be launched to address these collective trafficking problems.

Editorial Introduction: Contributing to the policy process literatures

Editorial Introduction: Contributing to the policy process literatures

SANCTIONING CHILDREN IN CONFLICT WITH THE LAW FOR SMUGGLING MIGRANTS AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN NORTH MACEDONIA

In this article, the authors refer to the issue of children in conflict with the law for actions of human trafficking and smuggling of migrants. The authors make a distinction between smuggling of migrants and human trafficking concluding that they are fundamentally different, although, in practice, the distinction between the two crimes is not always easy to establish. Then, the international frameworks and North Macedonia’s legislative framework is subject of examination. 
 Although children are at most times victims of these crimes, there are cases when their role is on the perpetrators side. Four cases from the Macedonian judicial practice are analysed in this respect showing that children are involved (often by and with adults) into criminal activities of this type. One of the four cases relates to child trafficking and three relate to the smuggling of migrants.
 The authors conclude that although the prosecution of traffickers is more successful, the identification of victims and assistance to them are still elements of the fight against trafficking to which not enough attention is paid in our country and beyond. When children appear as perpetrators of these crimes, the urgency is even more pronounced as they are usually children that faced risk before they took part in criminal activities. Macedonian courts tend to impose educational and alternative measures rather than classical punishments.

Expert Testimony in Sex Trafficking Cases.

In the courtroom, the credibility of sex trafficking survivors is often called into question. Particularly of interest are the survivors' complex behaviors and reactions, which may be misunderstood as being incongruent with claims that they were sex trafficked. Expert testimony may be essential to help the trier of fact understand the seemingly counterintuitive behavior of trafficking survivors. This article describes current laws against sex trafficking and challenges to prosecution arising from common misconceptions about survivors. We summarize clinical research on the mental health sequelae of sex trafficking. We review published judicial opinions that describe the use of expert testimony in sex trafficking prosecutions. Our case review shows that forensic psychiatrists are infrequently used as experts in this setting. Forensic psychiatrists, particularly those with expertise in traumatic stress or sex trafficking, can play an important role in explaining how trauma and psychopathology can cause survivors to recant testimony, be reluctant to engage, or respond in other ways that weaken their perceived credibility. Forensic psychiatrists can also assess for treatment needs to calculate restitution for trafficking survivors more accurately.

Trafficker Profile According to US Federal Prosecutions

This article presents data on defendants in US federal human trafficking prosecutions between 2000 and 2020. Through an exhaustive analysis of court documents, press releases, and news articles, it shows who is implicated in trafficking crimes, how they are connected to their victims, and at what point they become traffickers. It concludes that, while there is no universal trafficker profile, traffickers often exploit a position of trust with their victims, either by taking advantage of a child’s age or by employing coercive tactics. Cycles of such exploitation can even lead victims to begin abusing other victim

Combating the ‘myth of physical restraint’ in human trafficking and modern slavery trials heard in the Crown Court

The greatest hurdle to an effective criminal justice response to human trafficking is the prevalence of myths about how exploitation happens and who ‘counts’ as a genuine victim. This includes the myth that, to be a genuine victim, an individual must have been subject to some form of physical restraint. Previous work has demonstrated how this myth undermines trafficking prosecutions in various jurisdictions. It has demonstrated that, in the absence of physical restraint during their exploitation, victims are deemed to lack credibility. However, what is missing in the current body literature is a robust analysis of whether something should be done to address this issue. By engaging with the foundational principle of accurate fact-finding, this article argues that some form of regulation of cross-examination in the English and Welsh jurisdiction, with a view to preventing this myth from manifesting in trials, would be justified.

Deplatforming sexual speech in the age of FOSTA/SESTA

ABSTRACT The 2018 US anti-sex trafficking laws Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) and Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) were intended to limit the use of online communication platforms as illegal sexual commerce hubs. Several years later, sex trafficking prosecutions have plummeted, and US law enforcement agencies lament the loss of internet sites like Backpage where they previously identified victims. Instead, a range of serious consequences like the diminishment of global sex workers’ rights and the chilling of sexual speech abound. FOSTA/SESTA are analyzed as part of the deplatforming of sex, and as having emboldened technology corporations to make sweeping changes to the sexual content that can exist on mainstream platforms like Google. Digital platforms are central to sexuality, and thus we must articulate and defend our rights against government intrusion and overreaching corporate content moderation. Citizens deserve to pursue consensual sexual lives and protecting the ability to do so, even when that entails challenging laws and oligopolistic technology corporations’ policies, is a social justice mandate.

The public’s judgment of sex trafficked women: Blaming the victim?

A victim-centered approach to fighting sex trafficking can result in apprehension and prosecution of traffickers and offer needed services to survivors. However, law enforcement officers frequently arrest sex-trafficking survivors for prostitution in accordance with state law. This study examined the psychology of public reactions and judgments of sex-trafficking survivors demonstrating the importance of situational factors, cognitive stereotypes, and moral emotions. Using Stereotype Content Modeling to measure the stereotypes that 762 community members held about prostitutes, we found shared stereotypes that were low in competence (i.e., capable and skilled) and warmth (i.e., good-natured and friendly). These participants later read modified case facts from United States v. Bell (United States v. Bell, 761 F.3d (8th Cir. 2014)) that varied survivor history of prostitution, vulnerability, and prostitution as a subsequent livelihood. Participants who stereotyped prostitutes as low in warmth and competence were the ones most certain police should arrest the survivor. Moral emotion analyses further showed that a survivor with no prior prostitution history and who came from a nonvulnerable background invoked disgust and contempt, which predicted a higher certainty of the arrest. Moral emotions fully mediated the relationship between the interacting case facts and arrest certainty for the trafficking survivor. Future directions and policy implications are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

“They said they were going to help us get through this …”: documenting interactions between police and commercially sexually exploited youth

ABSTRACT This study seeks to better understand the interactions between police and commercially sexually exploited (CSE) youth. Analysis from 34 interviews conducted with CSE youth revealed four themes including (1) police who arrest youth instead of providing them with help or resources, (2) police whose focus was on exposing the traffickers rather than youths’ needs, (3) experiences of violence and threats by the police, and (4) positive treatment of CSE youth by the police. Together, these themes suggest that while some CSE youth have positive interactions with police, most continue to be treated like juvenile delinquents rather than victims of crime. Their needs were overlooked in the criminal justice system, as the apprehension and prosecution of traffickers took precedence. Implications for improving police policy and practice include better laws and enforcement, improved identification, and raising awareness about CSE among police.

A Public Health Approach to Global Child Sex Trafficking.

Human trafficking and child sex trafficking and sexual exploitation in particular are global public health issues with widespread, lasting impacts on children, families, and communities. Traditionally, human trafficking has been treated as a law enforcement problem with an emphasis on the arrest and prosecution of traffickers. However, use of a public health approach focuses efforts on those impacted by exploitation: trafficked persons, their families, and the population at large. It promotes strategies to build a solid scientific evidence base that allows development, implementation, and evaluation of prevention and intervention efforts, informs policy and program development, and guides international efforts at eradication. This article uses the public health approach to address human trafficking, with a focus on child sex trafficking and exploitation. Recommendations are made for public health professionals to contribute to antitrafficking efforts globally.

Understanding the criminal justice process in human trafficking cases in Portugal: factors associated with successful prosecutions

The overall number of convictions for human trafficking is still very low. In order to understand the barriers and gaps to human trafficking prosecutions and convictions, it is pertinent to analyse the criminal justice processes at different stages of the criminal procedure. This study aims to respond to that gap by identifying the cases that initiated criminal justice procedure for the crime of human trafficking in Portugal, through the analysis of 30 records of criminal cases for human trafficking elapsed in Portugal between 2007 and 2015. The results showed that the majority of cases (71%) were filled after the criminal investigation phase, and only 2% of all cases were convicted for human trafficking. The analysis allowed to identify the factors of effectiveness and ineffectiveness shaping legal outcomes and also, the relevance of the victim cooperation in the different stages of criminal justice processes (e.g., police investigation, trial).

Combating trafficking of Hungarian women to Western Europe: a multi-level analysis of the international law enforcement cooperation

Human trafficking is an increasing field of academic research, but the obstacles of investigation and prosecution of traffickers is still under-researched. This article analyses the challenges of prosecution of criminal groups facilitating the prostitution of Hungarian women to Western European countries by focusing on international cooperation of law enforcement agencies. Although the scientific literature mostly focuses on the influence of international agreements on national level policing, based on a multilevel analysis, the current article scrutinizes the organizational and individual dimensions in transnational policing and the implementation of the anti-trafficking measures in practice. Despite the aims of the global prohibition regime, victim-focus approach in human trafficking remains neglected by large in the Hungarian practice. The article is based on structured interviews with members of law enforcement agencies, observation of court trials, legal documents and secondary written sources on the investigation of organized crime in Hungary.

At the Crossroads: Evidential Challenges in the Investigation and Prosecution of Trafficking in Persons for Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Violence in Situations of Conflict

At the Crossroads: Evidential Challenges in the Investigation and Prosecution of Trafficking in Persons for Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Violence in Situations of Conflict

Between Universal Human Rights and Ethno-National Values: Israel's Contested Adoption of the Global Anti-Trafficking Norm

Earlier studies on Israel's combat against human trafficking largely focused on United States pressure as the key factor that led Israel to change its attitude and adopt the global anti-trafficking norm. This article, instead, highlights the consistency of Israel's stand in the face of international pressure. Drawing on Knesset protocols, our analysis demonstrates that throughout the translation process, Israeli lawmakers unfailingly modified the anti-trafficking norm to make it compatible with the Zionist value of Jewishonly immigration. Although transnational advocacy networks urged states to view trafficking as a human rights abuse and to prioritize protection of survivors, Israel chose a different path—it promoted a crime-fighting approach that emphasized the primacy of prosecution of traffickers and prevention of trafficking while marginalizing protection of victims. When the United States and the UN began to advance a crime-fighting approach, congruence with local policies and practices emerged, but protection of trafficking survivors remained a contested issue.

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

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.

Reforming Mexico’s Anti-Trafficking in Persons Legislation

In the past few years, Mexico has taken a number of measures to further prevention, protection, and prosecution of trafficking in persons. The country’s government has signed international anti-trafficking conventions and has taken some aspects of widely accepted international definitions of this crime as a reference when drafting its anti-trafficking legislation. However, Mexican lawmakers have interpreted human trafficking in their own terms. Mexico’s current anti-trafficking legislation is based on a quite broad definition of trafficking in persons and shows serious limitations that have led to the misidentification of victims and traffickers, as well as to re-victimization. This adds to Mexico’s weak rule of law, corruption, and the involvement of interest groups with particular agendas/ideologies that have obstructed reform. The present analysis demonstrates the imperative necessity to modify the current anti-trafficking legislation in Mexico and provides some basic suggestions for this much-needed reform.

Prosecution and Protection from a Gender Perspective in Trafficking of Women

This article examines trafficking in women from a human rights perspective and through the gender based lenses. Thus it concludes that prosecution and protection as preconditions for successful fight against trafficking in women lies on enacting of laws that are in line with international standards, implementation of those and successful prosecution of traffickers. Furthermore, it points out that protection of victims is an important and integral part of the process of prosecution of traffickers and that it should be based on human rights principles as stipulated in international legal instruments and jurisprudence