International news coverage of human trafficking arrests and prosecutions: a content analysis

Trafficking in human beings is a growing phenomenon with an expanding body of literature. However, a gap is evident in this body of literature: original research focusing on specific incidents of human trafficking. At this time, the human trafficking literature is permeated with discussions of the sex trade, sexual exploitation, organized crime, global socioeconomic problems and human rights. While these issues are all pertinent to the human trafficking debate, the literature requires maturation. This growth should occur with research that seeks to understand the trafficking event through analysis of occurrences of human trafficking: such is the aim of this study. This content analytic study examines 191 unique incidents of human trafficking, as reported in electronic international print media, in order to analyze specific attributes relating to the trafficker, the trafficked individual and the trafficking event.