Media Representation of Human Trafficking in the United States, Great Britain, and Canada

Chronicling a crisis: media framing of human trafficking in India, Thailand, and the USA

“…This focus on crime and legislation is consistent with previous studies of Western media coverage (Gulati, 2010;Johnston et al, 2012a), demonstrating that non-Western coverage functions similarly.…”

“…That is a positive finding from an anti-trafficking perspective, especially considering that previous studies found Western media coverage to be episodic (Gulati, 2010;Johnston et al, 2012aJohnston et al, , 2012b.…”

“…Johnson et al's (2012a) analysis of sex trafficking coverage in major US newspapers determined that stories were primarily framed as a crime issue, portrayed as episodic rather than thematic, suggested no remedies, focused on the opinions of official sources, and lacked the voice/perspective of trafficking victims. Second, Gulati's (2010) study of newspaper coverage in Canada, the UK, and the USA suggested that newspaper coverage consistently focused on human trafficking as a criminal activity and on anti-trafficking legislation/policy changes, rather than on representing the voices of victims. In a separate study of sex trafficking coverage in major US newspapers, Johnston, Friedman, and Shafer (2012b) revealed that news stories largely focused on consequences such as violence and emotional trauma, and failed to address consequences to global public health.…”

“…RQ2: Previous research on trafficking coverage in American, Canadian, and British newspapers revealed that coverage is primarily episodic, lacks proposed remedies and victims' voices, and focuses on official sources (Gulati, 2010;Johnston et al, 2012a). Will media coverage of sex trafficking in the New York Times, The Nation, and Hindustan Times be framed in similar ways before and after the UN.GIFT launch?…”

Confronting sex trafficking: Gender depictions in newspaper coverage from the Former Soviet Republics and the Baltic states

“…Preliminary research on media framing of sex trafficking has revealed that while coverage of the issue has increased (Jahic and Finckenauer, 2005), it has primarily focussed on raids of brothels and massage parlours, arrests and the efforts of legislators and law enforcement officials to curtail trafficking (Johnston and Friedman, 2008). A study by Gulati (2010) suggested similar findings in that coverage of human trafficking in newspapers in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States consistently focussed on the issue as a criminal activity and on changes in anti-trafficking legislation.…”