ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a comprehensive review of relevant research dedicated to victims of human trafficking. It addresses questions regarding the prevalence of human trafficking and examines victims’ profiles and trafficking experiences, inclusive of types of exploitation experienced, risk factors associated with trafficking, as well as consequences. In actuality, research suggests that the majority of human trafficking victims are actually forced to work within their country of citizenship/origin. There is a diminutive amount of reliable data on the actual scale of human trafficking, a handful of long-term evaluations dedicated to the effectiveness of anti-trafficking policies, and limited research devoted to identifying and serving trafficking victims. Specific to sex trafficking, research suggests that social norms condoning and encouraging gender-based violence, as well as the glamorization of pimps and prostitutes, are said to combine and contribute to demand for such services. Scholars have highlighted the unfortunate reality that research on sex trafficking includes a narrow focus on the trafficking of girls and women.
