Funded by HTRI, researchers traveled to Guatemala to build a partnership with the Pan American Development Foundation and examine its community-led awareness and information sharing counter-trafficking intervention.

Existing research shows mixed long-term impacts from human trafficking awareness campaigns.¹ While some studies indicate that these campaigns lead to short-term changes in behavior, most are unable to demonstrate a measurable and meaningful reduction in the prevalence of human trafficking.² However, emerging scholarship appears to indicate that community-driven campaigns targeted within specific populations can be effective at preventing human trafficking.³ 

Supported by HTRI funding, researchers traveled to Guatemala to build a partnership with the Pan American Development Foundation and examine its community-led counter-trafficking intervention. In this intervention, volunteers raise awareness and share information to the community about the risks of human trafficking in western Guatemala. The learnings will inform the design of a future randomized evaluation measuring the program’s impact on participants’ attitudes and behaviors related to human trafficking as well as its impact on the broader community.

Sources

^{1, 2.} PA HTRI Learning and Research Agenda 2021

^3. Agyemang, Eric O., Kevin P. Haggerty, Katarina Guttmannova, Michael S. Spencer, and Margaret L. Spearmon. "Community-Based Child Labor Trafficking Prevention in Ghana: A Rights-Based Approach." Journal of Human Trafficking (2023): 1-18.

Implementing Partner