Human Trafficking: The Perceptions of Students Towards The Underground Sex Trafficking Network

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to measure the perception, while controlling for race and ethnicity, towards human trafficking in 2012. Specifically, the perceptions of both undergraduate and graduate criminology and criminal justice college students at the University of Texas at Arlington are examined by a survey. A Quantitative empirical approach is used to measure the views of students on this topic. This study uses a non-experimental, cross-sectional survey design which consists of a single observation of undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Texas at Arlington. A non-probability convenience sample (n=108) is used for this group. The ultimate goal of this study is to show how human trafficking is perceived by students; the intention is to find the students current level of knowledge on this topic. Research has shown that the more people are aware of this problem, the more likely they are to report suspected human trafficking crimes (Matter, & Van Slyke, 2010).