How Not to Talk About Human Trafficking

Ryan Beck Turner, associate director of advocacy for the Human Trafficking Center, wrote this for journalists, but it's useful for people who read stories about human trafficking, too. Here's the first part of his essay, and one of the five guidelines:

Human trafficking is the cause célèbre for sensationalist media. Celebrities Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore have started a campaign against the sex trafficking of minors. Videos about trafficking regularly go viral. High-profile human trafficking cases have seized the public’s attention.  As someone who works in the anti-trafficking field, you might think I would be thrilled about all this public attention. I’m not. A great deal of the existing human trafficking content is both inaccurate and irresponsible. This tripe is often excused because it is “raising awareness.” The assumption is that more awareness will lead to more anti-trafficking efforts. While this may be true, it is not always helpful. When misinformed people do make an effort to end human trafficking, they will often support policies and organizations that are ultimately counter-productive to the fight against human trafficking.

Human trafficking is an emerging and complicated problem that can be difficult to discuss appropriately and sensitively. What follows is a simple guide to avoiding some of the most common misunderstandings and misrepresentations:

Do not repeat “statistics” without investigating

All human trafficking statistics should be regarded with some skepticism. Human trafficking is an illicit and hidden activity and is therefore exceedingly difficult to study. Research is further hindered by misuse of terms, poor methodology and lack of adequate funding.  Unfortunately, in a vacuum of reliable data, people tend to unquestioningly cite or simply fabricate trafficking data. Statistics used by established organizations or “experts” are not above critical assessment. Even oft-repeated, canonical statistics have been shown to be based on outdated or nongeneralizable studies.

http://humantraffickingcenter.org/uncategorized/how-not-to-talk-about-human-trafficking/