Understanding the Nature of Human Trafficking: A Content Analysis Approach

Although the exploitation of people has existed for centuries, human trafficking has only recently emerged as an offense that merits special legal intervention. This recognition is due, in part, to a growing movement that has labeled trafficking as a social problem that requires a collective response. Despite efforts to better understand and prevent these crimes, the clandestine nature of human trafficking makes it difficult to measure and draw a reliable portrait of offenders and their victims. In this respect, scientific research on this topic is limited. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation is to use an innovative method to expand knowledge about the nature of human trafficking in the United States.The current dissertation applies content analysis methods to create a rich database that informs characteristics on victims, offenders, and offenses. To facilitate this goal, human trafficking incidents from 32 independent newspapers, located in 22 of the largest cities across the United States, were reviewed from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2016. Identified cases that reported an arrest, conviction, or sentencing for a trafficking-related crime were then subjected to supplemental searches to gather all publicly available information on these events. Seven domains were recorded and analyzed: (1) identifiers; (2) newspaper details; (3) locations of cases; (4) nature of the crime; (5) victim characteristics; (6) offender characteristics; and (7) trial characteristics and offender outcomes. Using these methods, 361 cases were identified and coded for the final analysis. There were 303 sex trafficking cases, 39 labor trafficking cases, and 19 sex-and-labor trafficking cases.The analysis illuminated clear patterns regarding sex and labor trafficking offenses. In particular, sex trafficking cases tended to involve trafficking offenses without any smuggling component, domestic victims, and relatively few victims per case. Reports about sex traffickers suggested that they were in their early adulthood when they were first arrested for their crimes. A majority of sex traffickers were also Black or Hispanic and U.S. citizens. The victims of sex trafficking were relatively young and often Hispanic. The duration of sex trafficking was approximately six months. Labor trafficking, however, tended to involve smuggling and trafficking offenses, foreign national victims, and a large number of victims per case. Labor traffickers were in their early 40s and were frequently Hispanic or Asian. Many traffickers were also foreign nationals. The victims of labor trafficking were commonly adults in their 20s and Asian; they were often trafficked for more than two years.Taken together, these findings revealed that trafficking offenses were characterized by unique patterns. The results were then contextualized within existing opportunity models (lifestyle-routine activities theory and target congruence theory) to explain trafficking events. Although both frameworks were informative, the target congruence perspective could be especially important when considering individual characteristics that traffickers target. These models also have implications for crime prevention. It is likely that a combination of situational crime prevention and other approaches (e.g., place-based efforts, specialty courts) can be used to prevent human trafficking by different actors and at different stages of exploitation.