The Presence of Human Trafficking Online
Tiana Sharifi, BA | September 23 | 1:45-2:45 pm
Topic: Research, Conceptual | Knowledge Level: Advanced
This presentation will discuss the presence of human trafficking within the sex industry by summarizing the research paper, “Deploying artificial intelligence to detect and respond to the use of digital technology by perpetrators of human trafficking”. This research study was conducted by the International CyberCrime Research Centre in contract with Tiana Sharifi of Sexual Exploitation Education (SEE). Web crawlers were programmed and trained to detect human trafficking online, specifically on prostitution websites. A coding system had to be developed to indicate with certainty that a prostitution ad was that of a human trafficking victim. When 3 or more elements from the developed coding was present, ads were flagged as human trafficking. Tiana will explain what signs are indicative of human trafficking on these digital platforms, including symbols and images. She will also discuss the strategies that human traffickers use in advertising their victims and how the internet is used in modern day sexual exploitation. With up to 38% of advertisements being classified as human trafficking victims, the implications of these results are that human trafficking and sex work policies cannot be addressed as two separate conversations as they occur within the same industry.
Presentation Objectives:
· Discuss how the internet is used by human traffickers, specifically with advertising their victims
· Present the key words, phrases, and symbols indicative of human trafficking on prostitution/ escort websites
· Discuss how human trafficking and sex work occur within the same industry and why it is important to consider both when looking at prostitution laws