Evaluating the Criminal Justice Approach to Human Trafficking in Taiwan

Author: Goehrung, Ryan

Abstract: Despite being the dominant global framework driving intervention efforts, there is little evidence that a criminal justice approach decreases rates of human trafficking to any appreciable degree. As such, scholars point out the need to study state-level factors in an effort to understand potential barriers to effective criminal justice interventions. In response, the author conducts an analysis of the criminal justice approach to human trafficking in Taiwan, a country at the geographic epicenter of this global crime which the US recognizes as being a model of best- practices in the region. Specifically, the author examines data on 1,342 human trafficking apprehensions and 2,908 prosecutions from 2009 to 2018. Trends in this data are compared with demographic characteristics of 269 victims of trafficking and the results of interviews with immigration officials, police, and legal professionals conducted by other scholars from 2010–2015. The author finds that low conviction rates, relatively minor punishments, and an under emphasis on labor trafficking indicates that the criminal justice approach may have limited efficacy in cases beyond foreign sex trafficking. The author concludes with an exploration of potential immigration reforms that might better situate Taiwan and other similar states to more effectively address this pandemic.

Keywords: human trafficking, law, criminal justice, Taiwan, Asia