Estimating Prevalence of Human Trafficking and Building Capacity: Findings from an Action Research Project in Greater Cleveland

• In Event: Strategically Developing Community-Academic Collaborations for Trauma-Informed Victim Services and Evaluation Research

Abstract

The Collaborative to End Human Trafficking and researchers from Cleveland State University partnered on an action research project to gain a deeper understanding of the prevalence of sex trafficking in Greater Cleveland and improve the county-wide response and the services to human trafficking survivors. Following a multiple system estimation approach, we collaborated by identifying key anti-trafficking stakeholders in this jurisdiction and requested they provide researchers with their existing deidentified data on survivors. We “cross-walked” the data from these agencies as best as possible and developed and analyzed a combined database. When appropriate, we also worked with these organizations to pilot the Human Trafficking Screen Tool (HTST) (Dank et al. 2017) to ensure consistent screening and have begun to analyze the data from the piloted screener. In this presentation, we present the process and outcomes of this first-of-its-kind, county-wide assessment of individuals who are or are at risk of being trafficked and who have been referred or received services from key stakeholders in our community. Implications of community collaborations for trauma-informed victim services and evaluation research will be discussed.

Authors

• Rachel Lovell, Cleveland State University

• Claire Marshall, Cleveland State University

• Eric Matheny, Collaborative to End Human Trafficking

• Kirsti Mouncey, Collaborative to End Human Trafficking