Developing a qualitative research plan

¶ … Human Trafficking

Opening Statement

Over the last several years, the issue of human trafficking has been increasingly brought to the forefront. This is because the industry is considered to be a major source of income for organized criminal gangs and other groups with it accounting for $31.6 billion in profits worldwide. Depending the region, these returns will vary with some having greater rewards from: socially acceptable practices, a lack of regulation and the ability of criminal groups to move with impunity in certain regions. The below table is showing, those areas with the highest returns and levels of human trafficking. ("An Introduction to Human Trafficking," 2008) ("Human Trafficking," 2013)

The Profit Margins and Amounts of Human Trafficking

Location

Profits

Number of People

Industrialized Countries

49% ($15.1 billion)

Asia

% ($9.7 billion)

56%

Latin America and the Caribbean

4.1% ($1.3 billion)

10%

Middle East and North Africa

4.7% ($1.5 billion)

9.2%

Sub-Saharan Africa

5% ($5.6 billion)

5.2%

("An Introduction to Human Trafficking," 2008) ("Human Trafficking," 2013)

These figures are showing how human trafficking is big business. There is tremendous demand for different kinds of slaves, inside industrialized and Asian / Pacific countries. ("An Introduction to Human Trafficking," 2008) ("Human Trafficking," 2013)

At the same time, the Asia / Pacific region has severed as the primary breeding ground for recruitment. According to a report conducted by the UN, they found a number of revealing statistics. The most notable include:

52% of the victim's recruiters are males.

42% of the victim's recruiters are female.

6% are both men and women are recruiting together.

54% of cases involve the recruiter being a stranger to the victim.

In 46% of cases, the recruiter knows the victim.

The majority instances involve someone of the same nationality as the country where the abduction is occurring. ("An Introduction to Human Trafficking," 2008) ("Human Trafficking," 2013)

These statistics are showing how the overall scope of the problem has become very serve. In a number of regions, these kinds of agreements are reached between the family and the organization. The basic objective is for them to have a better standard of living. While at other times, deception is used to make the victim think they are going to study in a particular country. Then, once they arrive at their final destination, is when the find out that this was nothing more than a cover story. ("An Introduction to Human Trafficking," 2008) ("Human Trafficking," 2013)

The impact that this is having on communities is devastating. According to the UN, this will negatively impact every aspect of the individual's life and the community with it saying, "The negative effects of human trafficking goes beyond the individual level and generates its negative effect on the whole society. As trafficking is either a process that happens in one country or in more than in one country, it has its effect on each part of it. Its negative impact affects the donor country or community (places where victims are recruited), transit countries, or communities -- places where victims are transported towards the final destination and finally it affect the destination country (where victims eventually arrive and are exploited). As Kenya is a source, transit and destination country for victims of human trafficking, all the effects have a heavy impact on the society. Human capital is a necessary component for development and as we examine successful cases of development (for example the East Asian Miracle); investing in human capital (i.e. health, education) was a main component of successful development policies. Human trafficking causes lost opportunities domestically including an irretrievable loss of human resources and future productivity. Interestingly, some activists like Rebecca Clay nickname human trafficking as a silent epidemic, while describing the social cost of this phenomenon. Using such a phrase, often unintentionally, describes human trafficking as a form of an epidemic with all its negative social effects. As Epidemiology, has a concept of the 'Burden of Disease' which looks at the financial and social cost of the disease. While taking into consideration the difficult task of calculating the cost of human trafficking, calculating a Social Burden of Human Trafficking should be a future field of professional studies. Loss of human capital is also followed by the loss in remittance as the victims generate the profit that is either transferred abroad, or used by traffickers to fuel their criminal activities. In cases of child labor, the loss of human capital is more severe as children's health, psychology and overall capacity is not ready to handle the heavy labor. People who are lured into trafficking could be the possible future of the country. Their work, knowledge, and experience could have been a contribution to a common good. Instead, after being trafficked, they live in a situation of exploitation enriching traffickers and other exploiters. Many of them after the return to the place of origin become frustrated as they try to account for the time and capital lost. It is also very plausible that due to the physical and psychological damage, as they are likely to rely on the social assistance. They will depend on their families thus being a burden to the family, friends and local community." ("An Introduction to Human Trafficking," 2008) ("Human Trafficking," 2013)

This is showing how human trafficking is having a negative effect on communities. To fully understand what is happening requires conducting a study that will examine its long-term impacts on individuals, families and communities. This will be accomplished by conducting background research on the topic, discussing the problem statement, purpose of the study, research questions, the theoretical / conceptual framework, the nature of the study and its significance. Together, these elements will offer a better understanding of the impact human trafficking is having on different stakeholders. ("An Introduction to Human Trafficking," 2008) ("Human Trafficking," 2013)

Background of the Study

Previous research that was conducted is indicating there are many different effects of human trafficking on stakeholders. For instance, Turner (2009) concluded that it was the need for cheaper labor in various parts of the world that was fueling this phenomenon. This is because many poor families form different regions do not have any opportunities. They will do anything to realize greater rewards and benefits. In some cases, this means that they will sell their children to these organizations. While at other times, they are deceived and do not realize what is happening until it is too late. (Turner, 2009)

Kyle (2011) concluded that the problem is compounded by corruption among government officials in many developing nations. This is problematic, as it helps to make the situation worse by effectively enabling these activities to occur. In many regions such as Asia, this fuels the number of victims. (Kyle, 2011)

At the same time, human trafficking can involve focusing on turning children into soldiers or becoming sex slaves. This can be fueled my military regimes and leaning organizations. While at the same time, there have also been instances of UN peacekeepers supporting these activities directly or indirectly. According to Kirby (2008), this is something that has been occurring regularly. This is in spite of the UN's focus on combating these practices in regions where they have operations. These insights are showing how these practices are openly supported by some of the same organizations which are fighting against these practices. (Kirby, 2008)

Furthermore, Jakobsson (2013) determined that the penalties will have direct impact on if human trafficking is occurring. This is because those nations with more severe consequences will see a decrease from it serving as a deterrent. While those countries with have loose regulations will see an increase in these activities with him saying, "International trafficking in humans for sexual exploitation is an economic activity driven by profit motives. Laws regarding commercial sex influence the profitability of trafficking and may thus affect the inflow of trafficking to a country. Using two recent sources of European cross country data we show that trafficking of persons for commercial sexual exploitation (as proxied by the data sets we are using) is least prevalent in countries where prostitution is illegal, most prevalent in countries where prostitution is legalized, and in between in those countries where prostitution is legal but procuring illegal. Case studies of two countries (Norway and Sweden) that have criminalized buying sex support the possibility of a causal link from harsher prostitution laws to reduced trafficking. Although the data do not allow us to infer robust causal inference, the results suggest that criminalizing procuring, or going further and criminalizing buying and/or selling sex, may reduce the amount of trafficking to a country." (Jakobsson, 2013) This is showing how human trafficking will depend upon if the perpetrators feel they can get away with these actions. In those nations with more lax enforcement and regulation, is when this will take place regularly.

In many cases, human trafficking is increasing because of the free movement of people across different borders from globalization. According to Salt (2000), this is rising with more people and organizations taking advantage of liberal immigration and trade laws. Evidence of this can be seen with him saying, "The article argues that a market for irregular migration services has emerged, in which the mechanisms and forms of organization are still relatively unknown. Irregular migrants using these services are exposed both to unscrupulous service providers and to the immigration and policing authorities, thereby generating a dependence on safeguards provided by the trafficking networks. Thus a symbiosis has developed between traffickers and trafficked. The enormous interest and concern for trafficking and human smuggling in governmental, inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations, in the media and popular opinion, is running ahead of theoretical understanding and factual evidence. This has implications for policy measures designed to combat trafficking and human smuggling, which may not work and also have unintended side effects." (Salt, 2000) This is showing how human trafficking is becoming a major problem for countries around the globe. This is because liberalized trading and immigrations standards have opened the door for a new black market to emerge.

Surtess (2008) found that most studies will often examine different aspects of human trafficking from the individual victim's perspective. Yet, they do not examine the underlying motivations behind the recruiter and the organizations. This is problematic, as current solutions are failing to understand and address the root causes of the problem from different perspectives. Evidence of this can be seen with Sutrtess saying, "We describe patterns of trafficking from and within South-Eastern Europe, with particular attention to traffickers and their activities. This helps to determine the most effective methods of tackling these grave crimes through the strategic use of the criminal justice system. To date, attention has primarily been paid to victims of trafficking -- who they are and what makes them vulnerable -- in an effort to develop counter-trafficking interventions. To complement these studies of victims, studies of traffickers and their operations are also required. There is a need to address traffickers' behavior through more effective law enforcement and through legal, social and economic reforms that will cause them to reassess the economic benefits of pursuing this strategy." (Surtess, 2008) This is showing how more research needs to be conducted to understand the primary issues.

Moreover, Clawson (2006) and Wilson (2006) found that federal, state and local law enforcement is disorganized. This is because there is no coordinated system for dealing with issues such as human trafficking. The result is that illegal organizations are seeing the benefits from becoming involved in these activities. Evidence of this can be seen with Clawson saying, "A significant percentage of State and local law enforcement personnel in key cities with known human trafficking activity were not fully informed about the nature, prevalence, and patterns of human trafficking. By increasing law enforcement personnel's knowledge and awareness of this crime, they will be better able to seek the support and technical assistance needed to identify this crime, respond to it, and assist its victims. Respondents indicated they were benefiting from human-trafficking response protocols in their daily law enforcement work. Ensuring the availability of such response protocols across law enforcement agencies will improve interdiction efforts and increase the effectiveness of services to victims. Respondents were not generally familiar with the jurisdictional parameters for their work in dealing with human trafficking, nor were they informed about the work of other law enforcement agencies and areas where their work overlapped. There should be increased collaboration among Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies, as well as prosecutors and victim service providers." (Clawson, 2006) This is showing how the lack of coordination is making the problem of human trafficking worse. These factors are contributing directly to an increase in the amount of cases. (Wilson, 2006)

In a number of regions, governments have begun to inform the public about the dangers of becoming involved with these organizations. This is designed to show the dangers and how their families will be better off if they stayed with their current strategy. According to Pecoud (2007) and Bales (2007), this is something that has been seeing limited amounts of success. This is because many people do not believe their claims and will see no other alternative than to seek out some kind of quick solutions. The problem is that these organizations are the ones who are actively recruiting for human traffickers in other countries. A good example of this can be seen with Pecoud saying, "Information campaigns have been launched since the 1990s in central and eastern Europe to prevent human trafficking and undocumented migration. They attempt to reduce emigration before migrants reach the border and therefore take place within the reinforcement of migration controls. They are designed to discourage potential migrants from leaving by promoting a negative image of migration to Western Europe, thus relying on the questionable assumption that information plays a key role in migration decisions. By associating undocumented migration with human trafficking, these campaigns furthermore display moral and political ambiguities. These issues are leading to more people ignoring these warnings and continuing to seek out new opportunities regardless of what is happening." (Pecoud, 2007) This is showing how these trends are continuing regardless of programs to discourage people from becoming involved. The result is that people in poor communities are not listening to the information they are receiving. This is from many families living in abject poverty and having no way to move forward. (Bales, 2007)

Furthermore, Goodey (2008) concluded that many government policies are very limited when it comes to the issues of human trafficking. This is because they do not have the resources or see the immediate effects of the problem on the economy. Evidence of this can be seen with Goodey saying, "The phenomenon of trafficking in human beings, with examples drawn from intergovernmental organizations, the European Union and the UK. This outlines legal recognition of and current responses to trafficking, and goes on to present an overview of what we currently know and don't know about the extent and nature of this crime in relation to its various manifestations. The policy responses to trafficking are in the light of what are often, at best, sketchy data. The existence of the trafficking 'industry', both as an organized crime 'industry' and as an IGO and NGO 'industry', is continuing to prosper from these kinds of programs being ineffective." (Goodey, 2008) This is illustrating how a number of programs to deal with these problems are ineffective in understanding what is happening. In the long-term, this is wasting their resources by failing to tackle the root causes of the problems.

In the research, there are clear deficiencies. This is taking place with many studies often focusing on select aspects of the problem. At the same time, they will also cover similar topics. This means that there are certain areas which are ignored. The long-term impacts impact of the research is it will have positive effect on stakeholders. This will take place by using an all encompassing approach. That is having everyone look at various aspects of what is happening and how this is contributing to these issues.

The study is important, because it will examine all of these variables and decide the affects of human trafficking on numerous stakeholders. These insights can be used to identify new trends and help to troubleshoot the problem. This can serve as an initial foundation that will help researchers in the future, to create effective strategies for combating and dealing with the root causes. These areas should be perused as they will provide better insights about the scope of the problem and the most effective technique for dealing with key challenges. These areas are of significance to a number of individuals. The most notable include: government officials, law enforcement, families, communities, victims, the poor, the middle class, the affluent, men, women and minorities. The findings will help them to see the severity of the problem and to identify possible solutions for mitigating any risks.

Problem Statement

There is a need for studying different aspects of the problem. This is because the research will often limit the focus to specific areas. These changes take away from understanding the scope of the problem by looking at specific factors and ignoring others. A good example of this can be seen with observations from the International Organization for Migration which said, "Evaluation and assessment should consider not only the impact of such programs on the intended groups in reducing trafficking (or a particular aspect), but also the impact of prevention measures. Furthermore, there is a need to also consider the potential negative impacts of a program. The problem and the intended beneficiaries; for example changes in the number of people trafficked from one place to another. Without an analysis of these outcomes, it is not possible to evaluate the impact of the program or intervention. However, evaluations which focus on outcomes and impact are typically not done because the necessary high quality baseline information on trafficking incidence, the severity and program beneficiaries is often not available." This is illustrating how there are clear gaps in the research. The new study is focused on addressing these issues in order to provide a better understanding of the long-term impacts of human trafficking on different stakeholders. ("Human Trafficking," 2012)

Purpose of the Study

The research design will concentrate on using ethnography, grounded theory and case studies to understand what is happening. This will provide better insights by using these methods to identify and correlate the trends with each other. The intent of the study is to understand how the human trafficking is affecting stakeholders. At the same time, it is concentrating on describing the scope of the problem, exploring it and developing solutions. These elements will work in conjunction with each other to understand what is happening.

The central phenomenon is to examine how the issue of human trafficking is influencing the attitudes and opinions of stakeholders. This is achieved by surveying their opinion and focusing on what is affecting them the most. These findings can identify specific areas where the problem is worse or better than expected (depending upon the information provided by participants). The central phenomenon will divide subjects into different groups. Most notably: the general public, law enforcement, government officials, convicted criminals and victims. This will offer specific insights which are defining these categories.

Research Questions

To help focus the study, there will be an emphasis on several different research questions. The central ones will help to support or refute the hypothesis that was presented. The various ones include:

What is the impact of human trafficking on different stakeholders?

How will this influence the actions of various groups based upon perceived activities?

Which individuals are most affected by human trafficking?

How is this impacting the kinds of laws that are created and enforced?

What kinds of cooperation are embraced?

These areas will provide specific insights which are highlighting the various gaps that were uncovered from previous research. What make this project so unique; is these questions will seek to discuss and understand what is happening.

At the same time, there will be a series of sub-questions. This will focus on supporting the central research questions that were identified earlier. The most notable include:

What trends were identified and how they are supporting / refuting each other?

What specific segments of the population are most impacted by human trafficking?

What kinds of strategies can used to mitigate potential conflicts and improve transparency?

These answers will ensure that other aspects of the problem are examined. This will make certain that the study is taking a more detailed focus.

Theoretical or Conceptual Framework

The basis of the study is concentrating on previous research that was uncovered about the overall scope of the problem and how it is becoming worse from existing gaps. For instance, Bales (2007), theorized that the problem could be countered with improved transparency, coordination, education and stiffer penalties. This will make it difficult to create an environment for these organizations to operate. As various groups are effectively, undercutting any efforts, through not working together to address the primary causes of these problems. (Bales, 2007)

This theory has been applied to previous studies to show how the research is often taking a narrow focus. These insights help to underscore the overall scope of these challenges and possible solutions for addressing them. This can help to identify what is happening and provide solutions for improving researchers' ability to deal with these challenges in the long-term.

The major propositions of the theory, is that these challenges will hinder the development of effective solutions. This is because no one fully understands what is happening, much less how to address it. The new study will build upon these ideas and create a new strategy for improving everyone's ability to troubleshoot and address these challenges. This is accomplished through providing them with information about where these issues are most pressing and offering new ideas to address them. In many communities, this will help everyone to see the long-term effects of human trafficking on them.