Keywords

state policy, content analysis, macro social work, intersectionality, human trafficking, labor trafficking

Abstract

Human trafficking within and across nations is a pervasive, insidious global criminal enterprise that endangers human rights and impedes social justice. Sex and labor are two fundamental types of human trafficking, but media and policies prioritize the former. Social work calls for empowering marginalized groups, and labor trafficking survivors—who are more likely women and immigrants of color—certainly fall into this category. Since 2003, every U.S. state has criminalized human trafficking, yet the issue persists. Most human trafficking analyses focus on federal or international, not state, policies.

Thus, this critical analysis aimed to explore how human trafficking is conceptualized at the state level so that policies can be equitable. The research questions of this qualitative multiple-case study were: How do state policymakers conceptualize the problem of human trafficking, and how does this conceptualization differ among states? For answers, this dissertation applied content analysis to a purposive sample of legislative speeches about old and new state human trafficking laws. This dissertation adopted an intersectional lens to uncover what types of survivors (i.e., demographics, labor or sex trafficking survivors) policymakers emphasize when publicly justifying their stances.

This study found that, on the whole, state human trafficking policymaking does not consider survivors’ intersectionality, primarily focuses on sex trafficking and prostitution, employs a prosecution-heavy frame, and highlights children and girls as prototypical survivors—minimizing the experiences of women, trans, and immigrant survivors of color. These findings lend empirical support to the observation that U.S. policies prioritize the prototypical young female survivor and sex over labor trafficking. The study carries implications for survivors, policymakers, and social workers, including helping equivocate sex and labor trafficking and ensure that policymaking better reflects the experiences of marginalized groups.

Completion Date

2024

Semester

Summer

Committee Chair

Cennet Yalim, Asli

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Community Innovation and Education

Degree Program

Public Affairs (Social Work Track)

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

DP0028630

URL

https://purls.library.ucf.edu/go/DP0028630

Language

English

Rights

In copyright

Release Date

August 2024

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

Campus Location

UCF Downtown

Accessibility Status

Meets minimum standards for ETDs/HUTs

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