![handle is hein.journals/crmlsc72 and id is 1 raw text is: Crime, Law and Social Change (2019) 72:1-7
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-019-09852-7
Innovations in empirical research into human Checkfo
trafficking: introduction to the special edition U____
Ella Cockbain' - Edward R. Kleemans2
Published online: 25 July 2019
© Springer Nature B.V. 2019
When it comes to human trafficking, hype often outweighs evidence. All too often, the
discourse on trafficking - increasingly absorbed under discussions of so-called 'modern
slavery' too - is dominated by simplistic treatments of a complex problem, sweeping
claims and dubious statistics [1-3]. Such an approach might help to win attention,
investment and support for an anti-trafficking agenda in the short term, but ultimately
risks causing credibility problems for the entire field and contributing to ineffective,
even harmful, interventions [see, e.g., 2, 4-6]. From the 1990s onwards, levels of
interest and investment in counter-trafficking expanded rapidly [3, 7, 8]. In tandem, the
literature on trafficking has proliferated [9, 10]. Yet, actual empirical (data-driven)
research remains relatively rare [11-14]. Of course, non-empirical approaches have
value too - for example in challenging how we conceptualise trafficking or highlighting
tensions in governments' or businesses' commitments to anti-trafficking measures.
Nevertheless, empirical research is clearly crucial to advance understanding of the
trafficking phenomenon and shape nuanced, evidence-informed policy and practice.
Even where empirical research exists, its quality can be highly variable, with many
publications (even peer-reviewed ones) found to fall short of even rudimentary scien-
tific standards [13, 15]. Additionally, there is a particular dearth of rigorous, indepen-
dent evaluations of interventions [7, 13] - despite the many millions of dollars spent
thus far on anti-trafficking efforts worldwide [12, 16].
Before proceeding, it is worth acknowledging some fundamental tensions in
researching human trafficking. First, trafficking is not a neatly delineated phenomenon
that can be consistently identified and readily counted [1, 2]. Instead, it is a relatively
fuzzy social construct that exists upon what is increasingly recognised as a 'continuum of
exploitation' running from decent conditions through to severe abuses [17]. Second,
W Ella Cockbain
e.cockbain@ucl.ac.uk
Department of Security and Crime Science, University College London (UCL), London, UK
2 Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam,
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
4_ Springer](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/crmlsc72&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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