Federal Human Trafficking Prosecution Data: Identifying Trends, Gaps, and Disparities to Advance Evidence-Based Reforms

Author: Bouché, Vanessa; Sowell Van Dyk, Sarah; Moffett, Madeleine & Garrido, Eva

Abstract: The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 gave federal law enforcement the ability to investigate and prosecute human trafficking as a stand alone offense. Over time, prosecutions of human trafficking have risen, partly due to increased awareness and education among federal investigators and prosecutors. Despite all of the effort that has gone into human trafficking prosecutions, there remains scant empirical research examining anti-human trafficking prosecutorial efforts in the United States. The present research begins to fill this gap by presenting a novel dataset, Federal Case Data (FCD), maintained by Allies Against Slavery in its Lighthouse data platform. This paper introduces the methodology behind FCD, discusses its limitations, presents the results of a variety of research questions, and sets forth a robust research agenda for FCD. Ultimately, the findings highlight the complex interplay of demographic factors in predicting case types and reveal significant disparities in prosecution trends nationwide, including the overrepresentation of certain types of cases, defendants, and victims. These insights can empower stakeholders across the anti-trafficking movement to identify knowledge gaps, disseminate critical information, allocate resources, and inform policy and practice moving forward.

Keywords: human trafficking, sex trafficking, labor trafficking, federal prosecutions, defendants, victims