Research & Findings Archives - The Avery Center

Legal Deserts Report – CLOSING GAPS FOR HUMAN TRAFFICKING SURVIVORS’ ACCESS TO JUSTICE

30 MINUTE READ Human trafficking survivors across the United States find themselves in legal deserts without access to trauma-informed legal services . Current efforts to address these legal deserts, while laudable, are but a mirage. These deserts must be watered with resources, funding, professionalism, and initiatives as outlined in this Report in order to change…

National Economic Justice Report: Beyond Workforce Development for Survivors of Trafficking

45 MINUTE READ Job training and workforce readiness programs are common across the US for equipping individuals in marginalized communities with the skills and social supports to enter the traditional workforce. While models and populations served vary widely, the common goal is to identify common barriers to meaningful employment and create new pathways into existing…

If Houston Has a Problem, McLennan County Has a Solution

30 MINUTE READ Since sex trafficking is an illegal enterprise, accounting for the cost of risk should any involved party be arrested, convicted, and fined is key. Further, it can help policymakers, law enforcement, prosecutors, and others approach this industry more efficiently – by raising the cost of risk for exploiters, while reducing harm to…

Made for Them (MFT) Report: An Avery Seal Evaluation

Made for Them evaluation sex trafficking research reports

30 MINUTE READ The Avery Center for Research and Services’ Avery Seal Team conducted a formal program evaluation on Made for Them’s ten- year anniversary during March of 2022 to August of 2022. The formal purpose of this evaluation was to conduct an in-depth analysis of the practices and operations, as well as assess the…

The Role of Addictive Substances in Different Types of Sex Trafficking in Urban Areas in the U.S.: A Study of Control

Cover of Urban Crime - sex trafficking research reports

Sex traffickers manipulate their victims through force, fraud, and coercion into performing sexual acts in exchange for something of value. Often, traffickers use addictive substances to recruit and manipulate their victims into compliance. Less is known about how different types of traffickers – boyfriend/Romeo, gang- controlled or “guerilla/gorilla” pimps, and familial traffickers – use substances…

Sex Trafficking Prevalence, Cost of Risk, and Outreach in Delaware: A Community-Based Sample

Reliable data on the scope of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) is difficult to access; most reports rely on law-enforcement or health care interactions with sex trafficking victims, victims who reach out for services post-exploitation, or other non-governmental organization estimates. What’s missing is a real-time look at how sex trafficking victimization operates outside of organizations. The…

OnlyFans Report: A Case Study of Exploitation in the Digital Age

30 MINUTE READ Though the OnlyFans online social platform became wildly popular in early 2020, it has been around since 2016. This rapid rise to fame corresponded with the 2020 COVID-19 widespread shelter orders and layoffs that disproportionately impacted young people employed in the service industry. By November of 2020, OnlyFans’ revenues for the year…

Legal Deserts Report – ACCESSING LEGAL SERVICES FOR SURVIVORS OF SEX TRAFFICKING

30 MINUTE READ Human trafficking victims who are exploited in the commercial sex industry are highly likely to be arrested for offenses catalyzed by their victimization. The resulting criminal records shadow survivors out of trafficking and serve as barriers to achieving sustainable independence. Securing legal services can be a time consuming, trauma-inducing, and sometimes impossible…

Trauma-Informed Considerations for Anti-Trafficking Efforts in the COVID-19 Environment, its Aftermath, and in the Context of Possible Future Pandemics

We’re pleased to share these reports from a collaborative project between co-founder Megan Lundstrom and Jennifer Roman-Martin, LICSW, both consultants for the Human Trafficking Expert Consultant Network. This report was funded by and created for the U.S. State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons and was published as part of their annual…

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CONTEXT – How Survivor-Led Collaborations Can Inform Anti-Money Laundering Efforts

30 MINUTE READ Financial institutions are in a unique position to detect, disrupt, and prevent the illegal profits generated by human trafficking. But just because it may be possible to detect potential trafficking through financial records does not mean it is easy. Trafficking is often still a cash-based enterprise, does not use a single comm…