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Getting What We Want: Experience and Impact in Research with Survivors of Slavery

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Ethical Concerns in Research on Human Trafficking

Part of the book series: Studies of Organized Crime ((SOOC,volume 13))

Abstract

This chapter examines the ethical and moral dilemmas present in conducting research within vulnerable populations. In particular, we explore the process of conducting interviews with trafficking victims that identify as transient minor sex workers. In light of the primary responsibility to ‘first, do no harm’, investigating the variety of unintended negative consequences implicit in data collection and presentation is a process that is both tedious and engaging. Experience and literature are employed in analysing the threats to the physical, social, and psychological integrity of all participants in this project, including the researcher, the subjects, the sponsoring institution(s), and the audiences.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    ‘The life’ is a term commonly used throughout the USA to refer to the ways and means of prostitution.

  2. 2.

    According to a report by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI 2009), the average age of both the onset of sexual assault and the average age of entrance into prostitution for girls is 12 years.

  3. 3.

    A burgeoning set of literature investigates the numerous intersections between the US foster care system and DMST. Referred to by Malika Saada Saar as ‘The Foster Care to Child Trafficking Pipeline’, the gaps in the foster care system have given rise to a supply chain for child sex traffickers. Data from DMST recovery operations show that 60–90 % of child sex trafficking victims spent some time in foster care (Saar 2013).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wilberforce Institute for the study of Slavery and Emancipation, University of Hull, Hull, UK

    Zhaleh Boyd & Kevin Bales

Authors
  1. Zhaleh Boyd
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  2. Kevin Bales
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Correspondence to Zhaleh Boyd .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Willem Pompe Institute, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Dina Siegel

  2. Willem Pompe Institute, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Roos de Wildt

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Boyd, Z., Bales, K. (2016). Getting What We Want: Experience and Impact in Research with Survivors of Slavery. In: Siegel, D., de Wildt, R. (eds) Ethical Concerns in Research on Human Trafficking. Studies of Organized Crime, vol 13. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21521-1_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21521-1_11

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-21520-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-21521-1

  • eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)

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