Research

Family Dynamics and Trafficking in Persons

 

Andrea Nichols, a Steering Committee member of HTCN, is conducting an in-depth examination of the family’s role concerning sex and labor trafficking. Her research encompasses situations where family members are implicated in trafficking and those where they are not. She investigates practitioners’ perspectives on family engagement through interventions and practices to mitigate risk factors. Additionally, Dr. Nichols has been examining responses to sex trafficking experienced by minors involved in the juvenile justice system, emphasizing the critical importance of effective aftercare within social services and the juvenile justice system. Dr. Nichols has two scholarly articles currently under review and is also analyzing existing case law concerning sex and labor trafficking when family members are involved as perpetrators or facilitators.

Relevant Publications:

  • Nichols, A.J., Oberstadt, M., Slutsker, S., & Gilbert, K. (2023). Practitioners’ Perspectives of Family Involved Sex Trafficking of Minors: Implications for Practice. Journal of Family Violence
  • Nichols, A.J., Slutsker, S., Oberstadt, M., & Gilbert, K. (2023). Team Approaches to Addressing Sex Trafficking of Minors: Promising Practices for a Collaborative Model. Societies, 13(66). https://doi.org/10.3390/soc13030066
  • Nichols, A.J., Gerassi, L.B., Gilbert, K., & Taylor, E. (2022). Provider Challenges in Responding to Retrafficking of Juvenile Justice-Involved Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Survivors. Child Abuse and Neglect

Measures for Countering Trafficking in Persons (MCTIP) Phase I

The overall goal of MCTIP is to reduce the prevalence of trafficking in persons (TIP) in South Africa with an emphasis on the mental health of trafficking survivors, recognizing its critical role in their recovery and reintegration. The Program funds the ongoing Phase I program to End Modern Slavery (PEMS), Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (JTIP), This Phase is joined by three American academic institutions, including Washington University School of Medicine, a South African academic institution and a South Africa management service organization. This project is headed by Rumi Kato Price, a Founding and Steering Committee Member of the HTCN. This phase entails research and implementation activities including:

  • Conducting multiple field visits to Johannesburg and Cape Town to develop key stakeholder buy-in and to strengthen stakeholder networks for future participation in Phase I and Phase II.
  • Receiving approvals from Institutional Review Boards and South African governmental department ethics committees.
  • Collecting and analyzing risk marker data and mapping city-specific TIP high-risk areas.
  • Developing TIP response toolkits, such as a local-specific Core Standards of Care (CSC), and Outcome Assessment Toolkit.
  • Conducting a multi-round Delphi study to gain insights and feedback from stakeholders.
  • Partaking in capacity building to evolve MCTIP to a sustainable TIP prevalence reduction operation.

Relevant Publications:

  • Zhang, S. X., & Price, R. K. (2024). Diagnosing Human Trafficking Victims: A Mini-Review and Perspective. Journal of Mental Health and Clinical Psychology, 8(1), 26-32. https://www.mentalhealthjournal.org/articles/diagnosing-human-trafficking-victims-a-mini-review-and-perspective.pdf

Mekong Drought Increases Risk of Human Trafficking

 

Rumi Kato Price, a Founding and Steering Committee Member of the HTCN, and Puthborey Phon, a doctoral student in the School of Criminology and Justice Studies at the University of Massachusetts Lowell recently published an article examining how climate change-induced drought in the Mekong Delta is increasing the risk of human trafficking. More specifically, the article discusses how the worsening environmental conditions are forcing people to migrate, making them vulnerable to trafficking networks.

View the Article Here

Nexus of Climate Change Induced Natural Disasters, Forced Migration and Trafficking Vulnerability in Cambodia

 

This project evolved from a Fulbright Visiting Scholar’s prospectus exploring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and other disasters on trafficking in persons landscape in the Kingdom of Cambodia. The overall goal of the Cambodia project is to design, develop, and pilot-test interventions within the systems framework that cultivate alternative economic empowerment skills to counter the impact of climate change for young women in rural Cambodia and apply trauma-informed mental health services to improve the reintegration of trafficking survivors against revictimization.

Relevant Publications:

  • Phon, P., & Price, R., K. (2024). Climate Change, Forced Migration and Trafficking in Persons: Risk of Young Women in Rural Cambodia. Journal of Human Trafficking, 10(2), 361-367. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322705.2024.230326

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Trafficking in Persons Survivors: A Systematic Review

Gavin Newberry, a dual BS and MPH student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and  Technical Administrator of the HTCN, has conducted a comprehensive systematic review on the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among survivors of trafficking in persons (TIP). Published in Modern Psychological Studies, this systematic review emphasizes the critical mental health needs of TIP survivors and highlights the necessity for targeted research and interventions to address these needs effectively.

View the Publication Here

RESET Community Survey Study in Cape Town, South Africa

 

Cape Town, South Africa, has been identified as a prime destination for victims of trafficking in persons, particularly from what was noted to be “refugee-producing countries” and has been the location of other South African TIP studies. Findings from this community survey conducted by the University of Missouri-St. Louis, University of Western Cape, South Africa, and Washington University School Medicine delivered tools to expand monitoring and research in South Africa and to provide locally-based policy recommendations to improve knowledge and response on TIP and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on research and anti-trafficking activities in South Africa. This project was headed by Erica Koegler, a former Steering Committee member of the HTCN, and Rumi Kato Price, a Founding and Steering Committee Member of the HTCN. The study was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the South Africa Department of Science and Innovation (DSI).

Relevant Publications:

  • Koegler, E., Rich, E. G., Benjamin, F., Roman, N. V., & Price, R. K. (2021). Challenges, High Marks, and Adaptive Processes while Conducting a Trafficking-in-Person (TIP) Community Study in Cape Town, South Africa during the COVID-19 Pandemic. https://www.traffickingconference.com/2022-abstracts/2022/9/21/child-sex-trafficking-a-healthcare-team-response-to-prevention-and-evaluation-e3c47-geec6
  • Rich, E., Roman, N., V., Ryan, J., & Koegler, E. (2022). RESET (WestRn CapE Stop ExploiTation) Community Survey Study, Policy Brief.
  • Price, R. K., Bender, A. K., Milazzo, F. H., Rich, E. G., Roman, N. V., Zhang, S. X., & Koegler, E. L. Prevalence Estimates of Trafficking in Persons Using Statistical Definitions: A Cross-Sectional High-Risk Community Survey in Cape Town, South Africa. BMJ Open 2022; 12(12):e063617 doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-063617

Annamaria Szakonyi’s Research Projects

Annamaria Szakonyi, a Steering Committee member of HTCN, is dedicated to leveraging technology to address critical social issues, including human trafficking. She is currently involved in establishing a cutting-edge lab aimed at developing technological solutions for social impact, with a focus on combatting human trafficking. Annamaria also collaborates with multidisciplinary researchers, criminal justice professionals, private sector professionals, NGOs, and practitioners through Southern Methodist University’s Human Trafficking Data Research Project with a mission to “make human trafficking data work”.

Her previous projects have examined the role of technology in facilitating and combating domestic (United States) sex trafficking (National Science Foundation, Grant No. 2039678). She’s utilized public datasets and innovative research approaches to build predictions for anti-trafficking efforts, and to map trafficking networks and enhance the effectiveness of policy measures. Annamaria also developed evidence-based policy resources to achieve Target 8.7 of the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDG) to end forced labor, modern slavery, human trafficking and child labor, with a focus on all aspects of economic, trade, and financial policy, including supply chains and development policy.

She continues to expand her efforts to utilize data and technology to create impactful solutions, furthering the mission of HTCN and contributing to the broader fight against human trafficking.

Relevant Publications:

  • Szakonyi, A. (2022). Trafficking Policy Analysis Using a Multidisciplinary Approach: Recommendations for U.S. Anti-Trafficking Policy (Publication No. 29210298) [Doctoral Dissertation, Saint Louis University]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses. https://ezp.slu.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/pqdtlocal1006585/dissertations-theses/trafficking-policy-analysis-using/docview/2681205947/sem-2?accountid=8065
  • Szakonyi, A., Chellasamy, H., Vassilakos, A., & Dawson, M. (2021). Using Technologies to Uncover Patterns in Human Trafficking. In Latifi, S. (Eds), ITNG 2021 18th International Conference on Information Technology-New Generations. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, Vol. 1346 (pp. 497-502). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-70416-2_64
  • Delta 8.7. (2021). Delta 8.7 Markets Policy Guide. United Nations University, Centre for Policy Research. https://unu.edu/sites/default/files/2023-08/UNU_MarketsPolicyGuide_FINAL_WEB.pdf
  • Szakonyi, A., Leonard, B. & Dawson, M. (2021). Dark Web: A Breeding Ground for ID Theft and Financial Crimes. In Rafay, A. (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Theory and Practice of Financial Crimes (pp. 506-524). IGI Global. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-5567-5.ch025. https://www.igi-global.com/gateway/chapter/275477

Understanding Trafficking in Persons as a Public Health Crisis: An Examination of Cases in the United States

Dual BS and MPH student and Technical Administrator for the HTCN, Gavin Newberry, presented a poster presentation titled “Understanding Trafficking in Persons as a Public Health Crisis: An Examination of Cases in the United States” at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Public Health Research Poster Session in April 2024 where he won first place in his division. The presentation, inspired by his work in the Department of Psychiatry at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and with HTCN, focused on analyzing data from the Counter-Trafficking Data Collaborative (CTDC) dataset, specifically on documented cases from the United States.

 
View the Presentation Here