NCJ Number
231342
Journal
International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice Volume: 34 Issue: 1 Dated: Spring 2010 Pages: 201-212
Date Published
2010
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This study examined the factors which predict human trafficking to and from a country, and the need to use the United Nations' Global Programme Against Trafficking (GPAT) database for human trafficking research at the country level.
Abstract
The stated purposes of this paper are twofold: 1) to build upon Bales' (2007) earlier paper regarding the factors that predict human trafficking by adding transit countries to the analysis, which included origin and destination countries; and, 2) to demonstrate the efficacy of using the Global Programme Against Trafficking (GPAT) database sponsored by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in ongoing trafficking research, especially when the country is the unit of analysis. Bales (2007) and this research used different sets of measures, with some overlap. So it was not surprising that the results were mixed. Both Bales (2007) and this study identified governmental corruption and the percentage of the population under 14 years of age as the two top predictors of trafficking from a country. This study identified the percentage of the population under 14 as the primary predictor of trafficking through transit countries, a category Bales did not include in his study. Bales reported that the proportion of the country's population over 60 years old and corruption were the two strongest predictors of trafficking to a destination country. By way of contrast, this study found that the Human Development Index and the total population measure were the strongest predictors of trafficking to a destination country. Overall this study suggested the need to conduct more research with the data currently available in sources like the GPAT before making global policy recommendations. Tables, notes, and references (Published Abstract)