Technology & Trafficking in Persons

CCLP Director Geoffrey Cowan, Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons & Alec Ross, Senior Advisor to Secretary Clinton

The Technology and Trafficking in Persons Research Project is an initiative of the USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy created to study the current use and broader implementation of information communication technologies in the international fight against human trafficking and modern slavery.

According to the United States Department of State's 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report, approximately 12.3 million adults and children are involuntarily subjected to forced labor, bonded labor, and forced prostitution throughout the world. The complex nature of trafficking in persons make it difficult for governments to combat.

Since the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (2000), international relief organizations, law enforcement agencies, and government institutions, led by the United States Department of State, have collectively improved the global strategy to combat human trafficking. Additionally, under the direction of the United Nation's Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, or Palermo Protocol, international governments have established the foundation for long term success with the "3P" paradigm of prevention, criminal prosecution, and victim protection.

Regardless of whether it is coordinating law enforcement operations or providing survivors with medical and social services, communication and information sharing are critical to lasting success.