Date of Award

2016

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Political Science

Abstract

Thousands of men, women, and children become victims to human trafficking each year. Almost every country in the world is affected by this heinous crime. Human trafficking exists in many different forms including sexual exploitation, slavery, forced labor or servitude, the removal of organs, child soldiers, etc. Despite the age-old practice being traced back to the 13th century, it continues to exist and even grow today. Unfortunately, not much research is available on the topic. Combating human trafficking is a growing priority for many governments; however, certain obstacles to data collection and analysis continue to exist. Recently, a new study was published by Richard Frank (2013), which offers a comprehensive look at different patterns of human trafficking and government efforts to counter it. The study focuses on different types of human trafficking as well as government prosecution, prevention efforts, and protective services in 179 countries from 2000 to 2011. This thesis utilizes Frank’s (2013) data on human trafficking while testing new variables to determine whether certain conditions affect government responsiveness to the crime. Results show that a nation’s Human Development Index score, level of unemployment, extent of democracy, and percentage of women in national parliaments are significant in affecting a nation’s responsiveness to human trafficking. The study is mostly quantitative in nature and contributes to the growing literature on a topic that deserves more global attention.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

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