Understanding How Juveniles Become Human Traffickers

Modern-day slavery, also known as human trafficking, exists and grows worldwide, exploiting people for their physical and sexual labor (Banks & Kyckelhahn, 2011). Though media sources and legal changes have increased awareness about the issue of human trafficking, there is still a great void of research about the population of traffickers and perpetrators, especially a particularly concerning population: youth traffickers (Blank, Troshynski, 2007). Youth perpetrators have an easier time recruiting minors into human trafficking because they appear more trustworthy. However, little to no research is available to explain the histories and characteristics of this phenomenon regarding youth perpetrators. Therefore, we will seek to begin answering the following research question: What are the experiences of youth perpetrators? Researchers will use a qualitative, exploratory research design and a non-probable snowball sampling method to examine the experiences of current perpetrators who trafficked while they were minors. Using a semi-structured, in-depth interview, researchers will triangulate data from audio transcripts and copious field notes. The interviews with traffickers will be completed with phenomenological interviewing. The data will be analyzed using grounded theory methodology in which the researchers will work through multiple stages of coding with an outside coder to increase believability and trustworthiness. The researchers will also conduct data analysis with a limited number of traffickers to expand the study’s believability. We expect to find coding trends and theories related to the childhood experiences of this population and their life outcomes. The findings of this research will assist in working against the recruitment of additional minors to human trafficking. The goal of this research is to increase a general understanding of the experiences of youth traffickers and perpetrators, as well as encouraging others to engage in more quality research opportunities about trafficking as a whole