Exploring the Nature of Anti-trafficking Laws: A Content Analysis of State Statutes

Author: Branscum, Caralin; Cain, Calli & Wyatt Fallik, Seth

Abstract: The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 set the tone for anti-trafficking legislation nationwide. Though all states criminalized human trafficking by 2013, policy adoption has not been widespread. This matters because criminal justice actors are constrained in their ability to respond to human trafficking when policies are limited. Furthermore, variation among state laws may displace crime and inhibit interagency coordination. The extent that states have adopted anti-trafficking legislation has not been examined. The current study analyzes 982 state anti-trafficking statutes nationwide through a content analysis (M= 19.64). Three themes were identified from state legislative approaches: 1. conceptualizing human trafficking, 2. offense severity and penalties, and 3. accountability for other parties. Overall, the nation’s anti-trafficking laws are best characterized as a patchwork of statutes. While several states made great strides to further existing legislative recommendations with innovative laws, implementation was inconsistent state-by-state. Implications for future research and legal reform are discussed.

Keywords: human trafficking, forced labor, modern-day slavery, commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC), content analysis, anti-trafficking policy and legislation