This paper presents summary highlights of the discussion on available information in the area of trafficking of women and girls, and what are the perceived research needs.
The NIJ International Center Director requested the participants of the focus group discussion on Trafficking in Persons to recapitulate the main points of the discussion, particularly concerning the focus of the new research and availability of existing information. There was consensus about including a focus on trafficking for forced labor and using information resources from law enforcement people in the field who were having good results with this type of criminal case. In addition, there was also interest in examining victim impact. Representatives from several Federal Government organizations were hosted by the International Center of the National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice. It was explained to the group that the International Center had received a small sum to conduct research on trafficking of women and girls, and NIJ wanted to discover what information organizations had on this subject. Most current research on trafficking has resulted from interviews of women who were victimized in connection with the sex industry. First, the group discussed the recent trafficking incident relating to China and the research needs in the areas of forced labor. It then discussed the types and sources of information and previous research on trafficking.