International and Domestic Trends in Sex Trafficking of Women in the United States, 1999-2000 (ICPSR 3438)
Version Date: Mar 30, 2006 View help for published
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
Janice G. Raymond, Coalition Against Trafficking Women;
Donna M. Hughes, Coalition Against Trafficking Women
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR03438.v1
Version V1
Summary View help for Summary
This study by the Coalition Against Trafficking Women was the first to research both contemporary international and domestic trafficking of women for sexual exploitation in the United States and to include primary research information from interviews with trafficked and prostituted women in the sex industry. Telephone and personal interviews were conducted with people who had experience with or knowledge of sex trafficking in the United States. This data collection consists of the verbatim questions and responses from the following groups of individuals who were interviewed: (1) international and United States women who had been or were in the sex industry in the United States, (2) law enforcement officials who had experience and expertise in sex-industry related cases or immigration, (3) social service workers who provided services to women in prostitution or might have come into contact with women from the sex industry and those providing services to immigrant populations, and (4) health care workers who provided services to women in prostitution or who may have come into contact with women in the sex industry. The research framework was developed to follow the path of trafficked women from their hometown, through their experiences in the sex industry, to their present place in life. Information was collected on trafficked women's backgrounds, roles and activities while in the sex industry, how they were controlled, and how they coped with their situations. Respondents were also asked about experiences with recruiters, traffickers, pimps, and customers. Additional information was gathered on the respondents' views on policies regarding trafficking and prostitution, the organization of the sex industry, and health and legal aspects of the business. Questionnaires for each group of interviewees were constructed according to the topics about which each group would most likely have knowledge or experience.
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Subject Terms View help for Subject Terms
Geographic Coverage View help for Geographic Coverage
Restrictions View help for Restrictions
Access to these data is restricted. Users interested in obtaining these data must complete a Restricted Data Use Agreement, specify the reasons for the request, and obtain IRB approval or notice of exemption for their research.
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Date of Collection View help for Date of Collection
Data Collection Notes View help for Data Collection Notes
-
(1) The number of data files in this collection does not match the number of interviewees described in the Final Report for this project because some data files contain interviews with multiple respondents. (2) The number of data files in this collection does not match the number of interviews described in the Final Report for this project because ICPSR did not include duplicate interviews in this collection. (3) The data files were converted to plain ASCII text from Microsoft Word documents by ICPSR. Some formatting from the MSWord files were not retained in the conversion. Data users are strongly encouraged to use the data files in conjunction with the PDF data collection instrument provided as part of this data collection to distinguish question text and interviewer prompts from actual responses from interviewees. In particular, data users should note that many of the closed-ended questions required a discrete answer from the respondents, such as "Yes," "No," or "Don't know." Responses to such questions may be present in the data file in one of three ways: (1) interviewers typed the respondent's answer after the question, (2) all possible responses are present for a question and the respondents' answers are designated by an "X" to the left of the given response, or (3) all possible responses are present but none is marked, indicating that the question was not answered. (4) ICPSR blanked certain identifying information, such as names and locations. This information has been replaced by a generic identifier in brackets, such as [name]. (5) The user guide and data collection instruments are provided by ICPSR as Portable Document Format (PDF) files. The PDF file format was developed by Adobe Systems Incorporated and can be accessed using PDF reader software, such as the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Information on how to obtain a copy of the Acrobat Reader is provided on the ICPSR Web site.
Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose
The aim of this research was to broadly investigate the international and domestic trafficking in women in the United States. The specific goals were to: (1) document known cases and information on sex trafficking in the United States, (2) establish a research framework for studying sex trafficking in the United States, (3) describe connections between the supply of women trafficked from abroad and within the United States and the demand created by the sex industries, (4) describe local sex industries and their involvement in sex trafficking and prostitution, (5) describe linkages between international and domestic trafficking and sex industries, (6) describe regional differences in sex trafficking and sex industries in the United States, and (7) describe the social consequences of sex trafficking in terms of violence, crime, health, and other human costs.
Study Design View help for Study Design
To gather information on sex trafficking and the sex industry in the United States as effectively and efficiently as possible, target sampling was used, in which individuals with knowledge on trafficking and the sex industry were interviewed. The goal was to gather information from the most informed experts on the topic, not to do a broad survey of knowledge and attitudes. The data files in this collection consist of the verbatim questions and responses from the following groups of individuals who were interviewed: (1) international (Parts 1-16) and United States (Parts 17-41) women who had been or were in the sex industry in the United States, (2) law enforcement officials who had experience and expertise in sex-industry related cases or immigration (Parts 42-66), (3) social service workers who provided services to women in prostitution or might have come into contact with women from the sex industry and those providing services to immigrant populations (Parts 67-101), and (4) health care workers who provided services to women in prostitution or who may have come into contact with women in the sex industry (Parts 102-107). A research framework was developed to follow the path of trafficked women from their hometown, through their experiences in the sex industry, to their present place in life. Interviewees were asked about women's backgrounds before being recruited or trafficked into the sex industry, about the methods used to recruit them, whether and how they were moved around while in the sex industry, how they were initiated into the roles and activities they had to carry out, how they were controlled while in the sex industry, and how they coped with and resisted the conditions under which they lived. Interviewees were asked for their recommendations for policies on trafficking and prostitution. Since the women interviewed most likely had daily contact with other women in prostitution, they were asked for their observations and knowledge about other women (possibly trafficked women) in the sex industry. Women were asked about their experiences with recruiters, traffickers, and pimps and the men who buy them in the sex industry. They were asked about their health and well-being while in the sex industry and after getting out. Interviewees were also asked about the operation of the sex industry in their city or region. They were asked about who the traffickers were, how they operated, and how the sex industry was organized in that area. The questionnaire used in this study was constructed and organized by topics related to the path trafficked women might follow and the operation of the sex industry in which they were exploited. Questionnaires for each group of interviewees were constructed according to the topics about which each group would most likely have knowledge or experience. The questionnaires were composed of open- and closed-ended questions on each topic.
Sample View help for Sample
To gather information on sex trafficking and the sex industry in the United States as effectively and efficiently as possible, target sampling was used, in which individuals with knowledge of trafficking and the sex industry were interviewed.
Universe View help for Universe
Parts 1-16: International women who had been or were in the sex industry in the United States. Parts 17-41: United States women who had been or were in the sex industry in the United States. Parts 42-66: Law enforcement officials who had experience and expertise in sex-industry related cases or immigration in the United States. Parts 67-101: Social service workers who provided services to women in prostitution or who may have come in contact with women from the sex industry and those providing services to immigrant populations in the United States. Parts 102-107: Health care workers who provided services to women in prostitution or who may have come into contact with women in the sex industry.
Unit(s) of Observation View help for Unit(s) of Observation
Data Source View help for Data Source
telephone and personal interviews
Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)
Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables
inap.
Response Rates View help for Response Rates
Not applicable.
Presence of Common Scales View help for Presence of Common Scales
None.
HideOriginal Release Date View help for Original Release Date
2003-09-10
Version History View help for Version History
- Raymond, Janice G., and Donna M. Hughes. INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC TRENDS IN SEX TRAFFICKING OF WOMEN IN THE UNITED STATES, 1999-2000. ICPSR version. Amherst, MA: Coalition Against Trafficking Women [producer], 2002. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2003. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR03438.v1
2006-03-30 File UG3438.ALL.PDF was removed from any previous datasets and flagged as a study-level file, so that it will accompany all downloads.
Notes
The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.
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