How to get good data about human trafficking

Stanford's researchers have created resources about data gathering for people working in the anti-human trafficking field, including best practices about getting responsible and reliable data when working with hidden and vulnerable populations. Tackling the global scourge of human trafficking is one goal of Stanford's WSD Handa Center for Human Rights and International Justice. (Image credit: Getty Images) But global prevalence numbers like these, even if they are reliable, do not provide the kind of information needed to evaluate the effectiveness of anti-trafficking efforts, said David Cohen , director of Stanford's WSD Handa Center for Human Rights and International Justice. While high-level statistics are important to raise awareness and galvanize action, they are not enough to solve the problem, Cohen said. "One of the key gaps in our ability to respond effectively to the global trafficking crisis has to do with the lack of coordinated and reliable data," said Cohen, who is also a professor of classics in the Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences. "We are far from where we need to be in terms of the kind of coordination and interoperability of data collection we need to address current challenges." That's why his group has created working in the anti-trafficking field gather data that can better inform policymakers and practitioners about the nature and scope of the problem they face. There are a lot of data out there but sectors of the anti-trafficking field are not always cooperating in a way that is allowing us to understand that data in aggregate or in comparison.