Estimating the Prevalence of Human Trafficking: A Methodological Review

• In Event: Roundtable: Human Trafficking: Understanding Prevalence, Context, and Social Responses

Abstract

Human trafficking encompasses the use of force, fraud, or coercion to profit from commercialized sex, involuntary labor, domestic servitude, and debt bondage. Across domestic and international fronts, there are a number of difficulties in estimating the true prevalence of human trafficking victimization. Much of the current data used to estimate the prevalence of human trafficking at both local and global levels suffers from a number of limitations including incomplete data, variations in defining human trafficking (e.g., types of cases, age of victims), and duplicate cases when attempting to integrate different sources, among other issues. This paper will explore the extant literature with a focus on approaches to developing accurate and reliable estimates as well as the methodological complexities of estimating human trafficking at different levels of analysis. The review will conclude with a discussion of current efforts and directions for future research in order to assess the prevalence of human trafficking.

Authors

• Valerie R. Anderson, University of Cincinnati

• Teresa C. Kulig, University of Cincinnati