This brief published by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) summarizes research findings that challenge assumptions about sex trafficking clues in online escort ads.
Research supported by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) finds that many widely recognized indicators of trafficking in online escort ads are likely not reliable. A study by the Justice Information Resource Network (JIRN) found many long-held beliefs regarding sex trafficking indicators were not valid. The researchers identified seven additional types of language often believed to be likely indicators of sex trafficking that did not correlate with trafficking. Investigators have long used escort ads as evidence to identify potential trafficking victims. The important implication of that finding is that law enforcement can use ads much more effectively to generate leads or support investigations on trafficking while reducing false positive identifications. By themselves, sex ads and indicators in ads are not sufficient evidence to determine if trafficking is occurring. Research on indicators can help increase lead generation, but law enforcement must investigate and find corroborating evidence to establish trafficking. The researchers concluded that, while this study represents foundational work in the study of ad indicators in escort ads, these results require replication. They recommended that future research utilize a larger dataset to confirm these results. Researchers suggested that incorporating the study findings in law enforcement activities might uncover more victims.