Trafficking-in-Persons High-Risk Community Research During the Covid-19 Pandemic in Cape Town, South Africa

Rumi Kato Price, PhD, MPE; Erica L. Koegler, PhD, MSW; Annah Bender, PhD, MSW & Tolulope Balogun, PhD | September 21 | 10:15-11:15 am

Topic: Research, International | Knowledge Level: Advanced

This U.S.-South Africa collaborative team conducted a TIP high-risk community survey during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021 to examine the magnitude and nature of human trafficking in Cape Town. The project attempted the time and location sampling to obtain a high-risk sample in Cape Town and surrounding areas who met at least one TIP-vulnerability criteria (total n=665). The presentation will include main findings to date and the process describing challenges and research adaptations. Dr. Price will present TIP prevalence estimates obtained by applying the first edition of the Prevalence Reduction Innovation Forum (PRIF) statistical definitions issued by the U.S. Department of State (U.S. DoS, et al., 2020) and performance of two well-regarded TIP screening tools (VERA, 2024; US DHHS, 2018) with use of the PRIF definitions. Dr. Koegler will discuss multivariate analysis of demographic, individual risk, and comorbid factors, including adverse childhood experiences (Merrick et al., 2018), that are associated with PRIF definitions and screening indicators. Dr. Bender will focus on the analyses comparing characteristics of transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) persons with cisgender people to identify key vulnerabilities associated with being TGNC. Dr. Balogun will discuss challenges encountered during the data collection fieldwork, conducted at the height of South Africa Covid-19 surges, which include 13 ethics applications, low TIP awareness, shifting timelines, and a lack of facilitation despite government funding/support. The team adapted by conducting extensive, but unplanned, outreach bolstered by extensions in time and funding. The presentation concludes with recommendations for global TIP research.

Presentation Objectives:

· Provide an overview of the study, including main questions, methodology, and findings

· Discuss risk and comorbid factors of human trafficking among TIP high-risk community members

· Describe the implications and recommendations based on the research

· Describe challenges and adaptations of TIP community research and the pandemic impact on research methodology

About the Presenters

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Rumi Kato Price, PhD, MPE

Rumi Kato Price is a Professor of Psychiatry at the Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri. She is a founder of the Human Trafficking Collaborative Network. Her expertise includes epidemiology, methodology, classification system, and trauma spectrum disorders. Dr. Price’s PhD is from University of California at Berkeley.

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Erica L. Koegler, PhD, MSW

Erica Koegler is an Assistant Professor at the University of Missouri- St. Louis in the School of Social Work. Her research examines human trafficking in the American Midwest and in the Western Cape, South Africa. Her PhD is in public health and her master's in social work.

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Annah Bender, PhD, MSW

Annah Bender is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work and Faculty Affiliate in the Gender Studies Program at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Her research focuses on intimate partner violence across the life course and the associations of mental health and substance abuse among survivors.

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Tolulope Balogun, PhD

Tolulope Balogun is a lecturer at the University of Western Cape. She held her postdoctoral fellowship at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies of Children, Families, and Society with a focus on family social cohesion. She has been on the Trafficking-in-Person (TIP) project team in Cape Town.

2022Anna SchrammSeptember 21, 2022Rumi Kato Price; Erica L. Koegler; Annah Bender & Tolulope Balogun21:10:15