Identity Matching Among Human Trafficking Survivors and Providers: A Midwestern Case Study

Author: Preble, Kathleen; Nichols, Andrea & Cox, Ashley

Abstract: The current study examines the minoritized identities of sex trafficking survivors compared to the professionals who served them to understand representation in a Midwestern state. Survey data from 107 anti-trafficking professionals working with survivors of sex/sex and labor trafficking combined in a Midwestern state were analyzed to uncover demographic details among 388 survivors, and 58 professionals. Relative rate ratios were calculated to understand the race/ethnicity and gender of providers and survivors relative to the population, as well as identity matching between survivors and providers. Results indicate service providers’ race/ethnicity and gender did not reflect the diversity of the survivors they served. While most survivors were White (47.2%), survivors of color were 1.5x-8x more likely than White peers to experience trafficking. The anti-trafficking providers were also overwhelmingly White (79.3%) and there were no providers identifying as Asian American or Indigenous. Matching provider to survivor gender proved to be more diverse; however, there were no transgender providers to serve the transgender survivors who represented nearly 3% of the study participants. Enhancing staff diversity improves cultural competency among workers. Implications include anti-oppressive practice in organizations to reflect upon, uncover, and ameliorate bias in systems level responses.

Keywords: BIPOC, equity and inclusion, human trafficking, providers, survivors, SOGIE