An upcoming conference co-hosted by the Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration at the University of Southern California (listed in this month's events calendar) underscores the controversies surrounding strategies to combat and eliminate human trafficking. Noting that human trafficking is a "dire problem that thus far has generated shortsighted and lopsided solutions," conference organizers seek to integrate anti-trafficking work into broader struggles for labor and migrant rights.
 

This perspective is reflected in one of the studies profiled in this issue of our newsletter. Writing in the UCLA Law Review, Hila Shamir bemoans the fact that the worldwide effort to combat human trafficking helps "an alarmingly small number of individuals out of the multitudes currently understood as falling under the category of trafficked persons...." She argues the case for a "labor paradigm" for human trafficking, which would shift attention to the structure of labor markets prone to exploitive practices and to strategies to protect and empower workers.
 

 While there may be consensus on the gravity of the trafficking problem, there is clearly some confusion regarding effective strategies. Part of the problem may lie in the shortage of empirical research on the topic. This was, indeed, the conclusion drawn by Guri Tyldum in a 2010 article in the journal International Migration. Tyldum pointed out the difficulties involved in even identifying people who are trafficked or those at risk of being trafficked. He goes on to recommend the production of "thematically focused, local studies on clearly defined populations" which can then be aggregated to look for overarching patterns.

One such study was recently done by Kay B. Warren, who conducted ethnographic research on Colombian women trafficked to Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore for the sex entertainment industry. Warren found reason to question the "violent predator/innocent victim paradigm employed by many governmental and nongovernmental organizations active in monitoring and combating translational human trafficking." This framing of the problem denies these women "any sort of agency or voice" and serves to isolate sex work from other types of migrant exploitation. Warren believes that the "moralization" of human trafficking may actually blind people to the sophisticated global business networks "that link labor supplies with commercial demands in different parts of the world."

As many of the policy areas related to human trafficking, such as prostitution, labor market protections, and immigration laws, are highly politicized, it is clear that a robust research agenda, especially research evaluating current counter-trafficking policies and programs, can help to shape a more effective policy response to the scourge of modern-day slavery.
 

A final note: Georgetown University and Deloittee will hold a symposium on human trafficking in Washington, D.C. on January 30 (see events calendar). The Rutgers University School of Social Work will hold a seminar on April 8 looking at the role of social media and technology in increasing human trafficking. Details will be posted on the Portal when available.