Federal Prosecutions of Human Trafficking: Why Does Data Matter?

Wed, September 17 | 11:15 AM EDT–12:15 PM EDT

Topic: Research, Law Enforcement | Knowledge Level: Intermediate

Madeleine Moffett, JD and Eva Garrido, MS

Data is essential to understanding human trafficking patterns, and federal prosecutions data fills a critical gap in the existing ecosystem, shedding light on trends in minor sex trafficking. This presentation will: (i) highlight the importance of federal prosecutions data, (ii) describe the data and analysis developed by Allies Against Slavery in partnership with Dr. Vanessa Bouche, (iii) illustrate key insights, and (iv) demonstrate compelling use cases. First, the presenters will discuss how federal prosecutions data enhances our understanding of minor sex trafficking. By analyzing prosecution trends alongside other data, we gain broader insights into prevention, protection, policy, and prosecution. Second, they will describe a dataset of over 2,500 federally prosecuted human trafficking cases spanning two decades. This includes information on case details, trafficking locations, and victim and defendant characteristics. They will briefly cover the methodology used to ensure data integrity. Third, key trends in minor sex trafficking, including federal prosecutions by state and year, trafficking locations, and demographic data on victims and defendants will be discussed. Data visualizations will illustrate these insights. Finally, the presenters will highlight how this data can be used to examine racial disparities in sentencing, coercive trafficking methods, and the prosecution of victims. Finally, advocacy applications and how this data can be paired with other sources to create a more nuanced narrative on minor sex trafficking in the U.S. will be provided.

Presentation Objectives

• Provide an overview of the importance of federal prosecutions data in understanding patterns of minor sex trafficking and its role in filling empirical gaps in human trafficking research
• Describe the federal prosecutions dataset, including the methodology used for data collection and analysis, and its scope across more than two decades
• Illustrate key trends and insights from federal prosecutions data, such as geographical distribution, prosecution disparities, and demographic patterns among defendants and victims
• Demonstrate how the data can be used in practice, including its implications for policy, advocacy, and future research on human trafficking