Combatting Human Trafficking since Palermo: What Do We Know about What Works?

Abstract

In 2016, there were an estimated 40.3 million victims of modern slavery in the world, more than were enslaved during the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Since the adoption of the 2000 UN Trafficking Protocol, numerous efforts from inter-governmental agencies, governmental agencies, international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), and domestic non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have strived to combat the phenomena of human trafficking through legal-institutional means, direct interventions, and programs of support for those exploited. This anti-trafficking work has paid varying degrees of attention to the principles and methods of monitoring, evaluation, and impact assessment, but has often been subject to the end of project evaluations. Similar to findings of reviews of evaluations in the international development sector, evaluations of anti-trafficking programing have primarily focused on assessing the progress of project implementation and the achievement of outputs, rather than tracking the achievement of outcomes or impact. This is further complicated by the hidden nature of human trafficking and the trauma experienced by humantrafficking victims. As a consequence, despite some evidence of raised awareness and increased levels of funding, organizations are still struggling to demonstrate impact and discern what works to combat human trafficking. This article analyses the evaluations of counter-trafficking programing produced since the Protocol to draw conclusions regarding the lessons learned from these interventions and the methods used to monitor and evaluate human-trafficking programs. By highlighting gaps, this article provides a series of suggestions on how to better track progress and impact toward the elimination of modern slavery.

Human Trafficking: Results of a 5-Year Theory-Based Evaluation of Interventions to Prevent Trafficking of Women From South Asia

“…Yet, there is astonishingly limited evidence on "what works" to prevent these abuses or to address the consequences (4). In a recent systematic review including 90 reports on trafficking programs, the authors concluded that organizations are still "struggling to demonstrate impact and discern what works to combat human trafficking" (5). Similarly, a Rapid Evidence Review of interventions in South Asia noted that "...the outcomes from the reviewed studies alone cannot be used as recommendations for policy and practice on trafficking..." (6).…”

Human Trafficking as a Challenge for International Security and Security in Europe

“…Human trafficking is an international problem. In 2016, all over the world there were an estimated 40.3 million victims of modern slavery, which is more than were enslaved during the Transatlantic Slave Trade (Bryant, Landman, 2020). More victims of trafficking in human beings were reported to UNODC in 2016 than at any time over the past 13 years, which means that about 40% more victims were detected, as compared to 2011 (UNODC, 2018b).…”

Human Trafficking in Indonesia, the Dialectic of Poverty and Corruption

“…The emergence of trafficking in persons often occurs in vulnerable groups of society, especially women and children, because in Indonesian society, women in the family structure are often not the head of the household who have the power to make strategic decisions (Bryant & Landman, 2020)there were an estimated 40.3 million victims of modern slavery in the world, more than were enslaved during the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Since the adoption of the 2000 UN Trafficking Protocol, numerous efforts from inter-governmental agencies, governmental agencies, international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs.…”