Each year, roughly 200,000 people in the United States fall victim to sex trafficking. This tragic statistic is actually known by experts to be a gross underestimate of how many individuals experience trafficking every year.
Inaccurate data, combined with an overall lack of awareness about the issue as a whole create a daunting environment for survivors to seek proper support. Largely, the task of supporting trafficking survivors falls on legislators and members of the nonprofit sector. My research aimed to identify a connection between states that are succeeding or struggling in these areas, to better understand how to best support survivors by asking the question: In what ways does the combination of legislation and nonprofit work support survivors of sex trafficking?
Sex trafficking is defined by the Department of Justice under the overall umbrella term of human trafficking.
“Sex trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age. (22 U.S.C. § 7102(11)(A)).”
I used case-study analysis to identify four U.S. states with varying levels of legislative success and nonprofit presence. Using state ratings from the Polaris Project, a national human trafficking prevention nonprofit, I determined where each state fell on legislative strength. To determine nonprofit presence, I used average human trafficking nonprofits per capita that I located through GuideStar. The states and classifications are identified below.
- Washington: Strong State Legislation & Strong Nonprofit Presence
- West Virginia: Weak State Legislation & Weak Nonprofit Presence
- Colorado: Weak State Legislation & Strong Nonprofit Presence
- New Mexico: Strong State Legislation & Weak Nonprofit Presence
Once the states were identified, I reached out to different organizations that had a focus in sex trafficking prevention work. My data collection consisted of interviews with leaders of each organization to learn more about the legislative and nonprofit environments in each state. The interview process was divided into questions on the state’s legislative environment and how the specific nonprofit supports survivors of trafficking. I was interested in learning how states with varying levels of support for survivors (as according to the descriptions above) would differently speak to their success and struggles in the industry. I spoke with leaders from the following organizations:
- Washington: The Genesis Project
- West Virginia: Zera House
- Colorado: Reclaiming Hope
- New Mexico: New Mexico Dream Project
Since my research was qualitative and relied on accounts from the different interviews, I divided my findings into two categories: Policy/Legislation and Nonprofit Action. Through my discussions with different nonprofit leaders across the country, I discovered that the current state of sex trafficking policy is improving as people gain awareness and education efforts expand throughout the country. My findings related to policy and legislative work are:
- State human trafficking task forces have a great deal of influence in supporting trafficking survivors.
- The question of whether it is beneficial to charge a minor with prostitution is a contested policy issue.
- The policy is beginning to shift from treating human trafficking as a criminal enterprise and leaving victim assistance to nonprofits by combining the efforts into a victim-centered approach
Overall, the consensus was that state legislators are working to better support survivors of sex trafficking, but there is often a disconnect between what is right or wrong in creating legislation. The interviewees pointed to state task forces to combat this disconnect. Task forces dealing with human trafficking prevention combine leaders from nonprofits, government agencies, and even survivors of trafficking to collaborate on how to best solve this issue and create laws that will provide support. I especially noticed that states with higher legislative ratings, like Washington, spoke more positively on how the state’s laws support survivors.
The other area of focus, nonprofit action, led me to find that leaders in the field largely emphasized the importance of continuing efforts to strengthen the work of nonprofits to affect survivors positively. The overall nonprofit action themes are as follows:
- There is a lack of long-term aftercare for survivors of trafficking
- Collaboration with other organizations is vital for positive survivor outcomes.
- Fostering good relationships between nonprofit organizations and local law enforcement relates to improved survivor outcomes.
Again, I discovered that the consensus is survivors feel more supported by nonprofits in states that have a stronger presence of these organizations and are better able to work together in collaborative efforts.
My conversations with people from nonprofits across the country revealed several different strengths and weaknesses in the nonprofit and government sector when it comes to the issue. While I do feel optimistic that the population is becoming more invested and engaged in this topic, I believe there is a greater need for educational efforts to increase awareness, better collaboration between government agencies and nonprofit organizations, and stronger legislation that puts victims at the forefront of the issue. This research brought to light some of the specific ways that legislative efforts and nonprofit services can combine to improve outcomes for trafficking survivors.
Laura Stancato is a senior honors student at the Indiana University O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs studying Law and Public Policy. Next year, she will attend IU’s Maurer School of Law to pursue her J.D. and a career in public interest law. This research was possible due to the support and guidance of Professor Allison Schnable.
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