This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. The subject of human trafficking, or the use of force, fraud or coercion to transport persons across international borders or within countries to exploit them for labor or sex, has received renewed attention within the last two decades. This report provides a detailed description of the processes involved in a project to identify English language research-based literature on human trafficking; the databases searched and the keywords used to identify pertinent references; discussion of the development of the taxonomy used to categorize identified research-based journal articles, reports, and books; and the results of the categorization of the research according to the taxonomy.

During the last decade there has been a considerable increase in the number of studies about human trafficking. This review of research and data on trafficking shows that despite the growing literature on trafficking around the world, relatively few studies are based on extensive or empirical research, and information on the actual numbers of people trafficked remains very sketchy. The book, which includes 9 regional chapters, and 3 chapters dealing with methodological issues, suggests a number of ways in which to enhance research and data on human trafficking. These papers were first discussed at an international conference sponsored by the Italian Government, held in Rome in May 2004.

Human trafficking has many names and can take many forms - pimp control, commercial sex, exploitation, forced labor, modern slavery, child labor, and several others - and the definitions vary greatly across countries and cultures, as well as among researchers. In the United States, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) is the cornerstone of counter-trafficking efforts. It provides guidance for identifying and defining human trafficking, and it authorizes legislation and appropriations for subsequent counter-trafficking measures both within and outside of the federal government. First enacted in 2000, the TVPA has since been reauthorized by three administrations, and it includes a directive for the President to establish an Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking. The subsequent Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2018 also includes provisions for victim services and plans to enhance collaboration efforts to fight trafficking abroad. To explore current and innovative sampling methods, technological approaches, and analytical strategies for estimating the prevalence of sex and labor trafficking in vulnerable populations, a 2-day public workshop, Approaches to Estimating the Prevalence of Human Trafficking in the United States, was held in Washington, D.C. in April 2019. The workshop brought together statisticians, survey methodologists, researchers, public health practitioners, and other experts who work closely with human trafficking data or with the survivors of trafficking. Participants addressed the current state of research on human trafficking, advancements in data collection, and gaps in the data. They discussed international practices and global trends in human trafficking prevalence estimation and considered ways in which collaborations across agencies and among the U.S. government and private-sector organizations have advanced counter-trafficking efforts. This proceedings summarizes the presentations and discussions of the workshop.

Includes graphs and diagrams.

Human trafficking captured the attention of the global community well over a decade ago, inspiring multifarious international, national, regional and local responses. While formally recognized as one of the major threats associated with transnational organized crime, human trafficking remains an issue about which much has been written and yet little is known or supported by empirical evidence. The essays selected for this volume reflect four key areas of debate: the transnational organized crime framework; the data and research landscape; the implementation of anti-trafficking responses; and the articulation of alternative responses to human trafficking. These essays are written by well-known and more recent contributors to this field of research. The collection draws attention to contemporary arguments as well as recent empirical research, and points to the importance of contextualizing human trafficking within both the global and local setting. This volume reflects where human trafficking data, research and debate is currently located and where it is heading, and as such is of interest to academics, students, policymakers and practitioners.

It is impossible to know definitively the scale or scope of human trafficking. This unsettling uncertainty arises, in part, from the lack of robust, accurate, and standardized data related to human trafficking -- information that is critical to devising and implementing better policies to combat it. Policies and programs based on poor data will be equally poor in their effectiveness. The corrective impulse should focus not only on collecting more data, but better data. This data scarcity arises, in part, from the fact that those involved in human trafficking are inherently a hidden population. It is further challenged by insufficient institutionalization of the definition of human trafficking, corrupt practices linked to trafficking, and -- whether owing to a lack of resources or an unawareness of proper research methodologies -- the inability to properly gather and analyze such information. Though progress has been made, these challenges continue to confront ASEAN member states as they move later this year toward further economic consolidation and the adoption of the ASEAN Convention on Trafficking in Persons -- events that make regional collaboration and standardization on the issue of human trafficking all the more critical. In support of this process, this report is intended as a resource for both ASEAN and the international anti-trafficking community in aiming to (1) establish a foundation of approaches to estimating hidden populations, (2) survey the field of current global and local prevalence measure methods, (3) outline normative and technical achievements and challenges that may guide future data collection and analysis in Southeast Asia, and (4) offer policy recommendations to advance understanding of the scale and scope of human trafficking.

This book expands on the present state of human trafficking research. It presents contributions from leading researchers across the globe who gathered at the inaugural International Conference on Human Trafficking Research (ICHTR) held at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, USA in May of 2019. This insightful volume highlights the diversity of scholarly work and perspectives presented at the conference, showcasing a variety of topics, methodologies, geographies, and populations. Chapters cover topics such as trafficking in higher education, trafficking of men, and trafficking terminology among others. The authors use different methodologies for their studies, including interviews, secondary data, and Community-Based Participatory Action Research. Different geographic areas are also represented, including populations in the United States and Ethiopia. The Field of Human Trafficking: Expanding on the Present State of Research will be a key resource for academics, researchers, and advanced students of criminology and criminal justice, law, public policy, law enforcement, public affairs and government, research methods, and sociology. This book was originally published as a special issue of Journal of Human Trafficking.