Human trafficking, the cruel and inhumane crime that it is, exploits the lives of millions of people around the world. My study explores the common vulnerabilities that exist for victims of cross-national human trafficking. First, I analyze literature discussing individual and country- level victim demographics to identify characteristics that predict recruitment or abduction into human trafficking. Using the 2017 Counter Trafficking Data Collaborative, I demonstrate the applicability of Cohen and Felson's 1979 Routine Activity Theory (RAT) to explain the vulnerabilities to victimization further. More specifically, I use VIVA to assess the methods of control and types of exploitation utilized by domestic and international traffickers. A sociological study that combines the work of RAT and VIVA in relation to human trafficking victimization is yet to exist, therefore I am seeking to fill this research gap. The overarching goal of this study is to form a victim profile through cluster analysis and logistic regression in order to locate the unique patterns of victimization. My findings demonstrate that there is a significant relationship between the three clusters formed, the methods of control used by the perpetrator (physical, psychological, and economic abuse), and the types of exploitation suffered by the victim (sexual and labor exploitation). / Master of Science / Human trafficking is the abduction and exploitation of individuals, in which victims are manipulated into sex or labor trafficking in unfamiliar environments without compensation. Trafficking occurs beyond national borders, therefore I look at victims originating from all over the globe. The literature I utilize looks at individual-level demographics and national-level characteristics. I then use a database to link certain social and theoretical elements of these demographics and characteristics to the methods of control and types of exploitation traffickers enforce upon their victims. Overall, this study forms a victim profile and locates the unique patterns of trafficking victimization through multiple data applications. My thesis concludes with findings on clusters that combine age, gender, recruiter relations, literacy rates, and trafficking laws and regressions that link these clusters to physical, psychological, and economic control as well as sexual and labor exploitation.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/103246 |
| Date | 11 May 2021 |
| Creators | Kidd, Rachel Marie |
| Contributors | Sociology, Hawdon, James E., Parti, Katalin, Reichelmann, Ashley Veronica |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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