Trafficker or Trafficked? Predicting Victim versus Offender Status of Female Defendants in Federal Sex Trafficking Prosecutions Using the T.R.A.P. Typology

• NCJ Number: 310241
• Journal: Victims & Offenders Dated: Jan 2025
• Author(s): Vanessa Bouche; Sarah Sowell; Van Dyk; Ava Kamdem
• Date Published: January 2025
• Grant Number(s): 2013-R2-CX-0049
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Award: An empirical analysis of the scope and scale of organized crime''s involvement in human trafficking in the United States

Annotation

This article discusses trends in sex trafficking prosecutions as well as the extent of the problem and how it impacts sex trafficking victims; it uses federal prosecution data to categorize 399 female defendants to systematically determine their status of either victim or offender, and identifies predictors of that status.

Abstract

While female victims of sex trafficking continue to face criminal indictments in sex trafficking prosecutions, the extent of the problem and an understanding of the victims it disproportionately impacts is unclear. This study investigates the extent to which victims of trafficking are prosecuted in sex trafficking cases, and what defendant-, victim-, and trafficking-related patterns predict who is likely to be a victim. The authors begin by presenting the T.R.A.P. Typology of female defendants in sex trafficking prosecutions which places female defendants in types based on whether they have a trafficker, recruit victims, perform administrative functions, and engage in prostitution. The T.R.A.P. Typology yields five groups: manager, bottom, associate, partner, or CEO. Using federal prosecutions data, the authors categorized 399 female defendants using this typology to systematically determine their victim versus offender status and its predictors. Significant patterns emerge. Victims (the combined manager and bottom ideal types) constitute 53 percent of defendants and are younger, more likely to be white or black, and are involved with sex trafficking organizations that are most likely to traffic adult, American women via online and outdoor solicitation. The results have implications for victim-centered criminal justice responses and offer empirical support for various policy reforms. (Published Abstract Provided)