Evaluating Human Trafficking Service Programs: What Can Be Learned from Domestic Violence Service Program Evaluations

ABSTRACT

Evaluations of human trafficking service programs are necessary to determine if they are effective and to document how they are working. Yet, human trafficking programs have only recently begun to be evaluated and little is known about the most effective approaches. To evaluate human trafficking programs, evaluators can learn from field-tested evaluation designs and methodologies of similar service programs. Domestic violence programs have many parallels to human trafficking programs and have an extensive evaluation literature base from which to draw. This paper documents the current status of human trafficking and domestic violence service program evaluations, identifies areas in which human trafficking program evaluations can build on domestic violence program evaluations, and provides recommendations for future human trafficking program evaluations.

KEYWORDS:

• Human trafficking
• domestic violence
• intimate partner violence
• program evaluation
• evaluation methods
• outcomes
• program theory

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank RTI International for support of this review. The authors would also like to acknowledge the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for support of an early literature review on human trafficking outcome measurement and evaluation theory that informed this work through the grant, Measuring Outcomes in Services to Domestic Victims of Human Trafficking: Instrument Development and Testing, NIJ Grant No. 2016-VT-BX-0001. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of DOJ.

Declaration Of Interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

¹ Human trafficking is defined as the use of force, fraud, or coercion to exploit a person for the purpose of committing a commercial sex act or labor or services, or when a commercial sex act occurs when the individual is under the age of 18. Definition from the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106–386 and reauthorizations), often referred to as the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. The phrase “commercially sexually exploited children” refers to individuals under 18 and is used interchangeably with the concept of minor victims of sex trafficking.

² In this paper, we use the term “domestic violence” to refer to physical violence, sexual violence, psychological aggression, or a combination of these perpetrated by a current or former intimate partner. The terms “intimate partner violence,” “partner violence,” “partner abuse,” “relationship abuse,” and others are also used to describe this phenomenon, though “domestic violence” is commonly used by service providers in the field. We recognize that this type of abuse can occur regardless of whether a couple is living together.

³ In this paper we use the terms “victim” and “survivor” interchangeably. We acknowledge that some individuals who have a lived experience with domestic violence or human trafficking may not identify as a “victim” or a “survivor.”

⁴ Comprehensive services typically include crisis intervention, basic needs, emergency and long-term housing, safety planning, counseling, health care, legal advocacy, educational and vocational support, and other services to meet the needs of survivors.

⁵ “Domestic victims of human trafficking” refers to U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who experience human trafficking.