Estimating the Prevalence of
Human Trafficking
in the United States
CONSIDERATIONS AND COMPLEXITIES
PROCEEDINGS OF A WORKSHOP
Jordyn White, Rapporteur
Committee on National Statistics and Committee on Population
Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, DC
www.nap.edu
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This activity was supported by contracts between the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Contract No. HHSP233201400020B/Sponsor Award No. HHSP23337078. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-49959-0
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-49959-3
Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/25614
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Suggested citation: The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2020). Estimating the Prevalence of Human Trafficking in the United States: Considerations and Complexities: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25614.
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PLANNING COMMITTEE FOR THE WORKSHOP ON APPROACHES TO ESTIMATING THE PREVALENCE OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN THE UNITED STATES
DAVID BANKS (Chair), Duke University
ROY AHN, NORC at the University of Chicago
KATHERINE CHON, Office on Trafficking in Persons, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
DAVINA DURGANA, Walk Free Foundation and School of International Service, American University
MEGAN PRICE, Human Rights Data Analysis Group, San Francisco, CA
BERNARD SILVERMAN, University of Nottingham
SHELDON ZHANG, University of Massachusetts Lowell
JORDYN WHITE, Study Director
ELLIS GRIMES, Senior Program Assistant
COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL STATISTICS
ROBERT M. GROVES (Chair), Department of Mathematics and Statistics and Department of Sociology, Georgetown University
ANNE C. CASE, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University
JANET CURRIE, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University
DONALD A. DILLMAN, Department of Sociology, Washington State University
DIANA FARRELL, JPMorgan Chase Institute, Washington, DC
ROBERT GOERGE, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago
HILARY HOYNES, Goldman School of Public Policy and Department of Economics, University of California, Berkeley
DANIEL KIFER, Department of Computer Science & Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University
SHARON LOHR, School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, Arizona State University (emerita)
THOMAS L. MESENBOURG, U.S. Census Bureau (retired)
SARAH M. NUSSER, Department of Statistics, Iowa State University
JEROME P. REITER, Department of Statistical Science, Duke University
JUDITH A. SELTZER, Department of Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles
C. MATTHEW SNIPP, School of the Humanities and Sciences, Stanford University
JEANNETTE WING, Data Science Institute and Computer Science Department, Columbia University
BRIAN HARRIS-KOJETIN, Director
CONSTANCE F. CITRO, Senior Scholar
COMMITTEE ON POPULATION
KATHLEEN MULLAN HARRIS (Chair), Department of Sociology, Carolina Population Center, and National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
DEBORAH BALK, Marxe School of Public and International Affairs, and CUNY Institute for Demographic Research, Baruch College of the City University of New York
NANCY BIRDSALL, Center for Global Development (president emeritus), Washington, DC
ANN K. BLANC, Social and Behavioral Science Research, Population Council, New York, NY
COURTNEY C. COILE, Department of Economics, Wellesley College
VICKI A. FREEDMAN, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan
DANA A. GLEI, Research Consultant, Georgetown University
ROBERT A. HUMMER, Department of Sociology, and Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
HEDWIG (HEDY) LEE, Department of Sociology, Washington University in St. Louis
JENNIFER J. MANLY, Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, Department of Neurology, Columbia University
EMILIO A. PARRADO, Department of Sociology and Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania
ANNE R. PEBLEY, Department of Community Health Sciences, Department of Sociology, California Center for Population Research, Bixby Center on Population and Reproductive Health, University of California, Los Angeles
ISABEL V. SAWHILL, The Brookings Institution, Washington, DC
REBECA WONG, Health Disparities, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
MALAY K. MAJMUNDAR, Director
MARY GHITELMAN, Senior Program Assistant
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Acknowledgments
This Proceedings of a Workshop was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published proceedings as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process.
We thank the following individuals for their review of this proceedings: Hannabeth Franchino-Olsen, Maternal and Child Health, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Megan Price, executive director, Human Rights Data Analysis Group, San Francisco, CA; and Katrina B. Stone, chief executive officer, Surveys & Behavior Analytics LLC, Washington, D.C.
Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the content of the proceedings nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this proceedings was overseen by Roger Tourangeau, vice president and associate director, Westat, Inc. He was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this proceedings was carried out in accordance with standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the rapporteur and the National Academies.
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Contents
Background and Impetus for the Workshop
Workshop Charge and Organization of the Proceedings
2 BEFORE MEASURING: IDENTIFYING VICTIMS AND UNDERSTANDING VULNERABILITY
Different Types of Trafficking in Different Sectors
Understanding How Victims See Themselves
The Connection Between Prevalence and Vulnerability
Reducing Survivors’ Vulnerability
Collaboration Within the Anti-Trafficking Movement: A National Approach
Identifying Vulnerability on a Global Scale
3 DOMESTIC APPROACHES TO MEASURING PREVALENCE
Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center
4 INTERNATIONAL APPROACHES TO MEASURING PREVALENCE
Sector- and Indicator-Based Approaches
U.S. Bureau of International Labor
Global Estimates of Modern Slavery
International Conference of Labor Statisticians
IOM and the Counter Trafficking Data Collaborative
Delta 8.7, Earthtime, and Code 8.7
5 COLLECTING HUMAN TRAFFICKING PREVALENCE DATA
Data from Point-of-Crisis Contact
The U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline
A Method for Hidden Populations: Key Findings
Data from Surveys and Sampling
Capture-Recapture Heterogeneity
Network Sampling for Estimating Hard-to-Reach Populations
6 LINKING PREVALENCE TO POLICY
Developments in Health Care Data
Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons
Using the Public Justice System
Definitions and Research Approaches
7 KEY TAKEAWAYS AND ADDITIONAL AREAS OF FOCUS
B Biographical Sketches of Planning Committee Members and Presenters
