Media Advocacy: Does it Really Work?

Media Advocacy: Does it Really Work?

At least once per day, the media asks us to save the world, taking the form of poster, viral video or Facebook promotion in its attempts to raise awareness to specific causes in order to prompt action. But while many of us may feel great about ourselves after clicking the “like” passing a video on to friends, we can also wonder exactly how effective the media is at facilitating distinct change in the world; what, if anything, happens when the word is out? We can specifically study human trafficking in order to understand the potential of the media to prompt government action on a transnational issue.

Human trafficking is the third most profitable smuggling industry globally. The trade generates thirty-two billion dollars each year, and enlists an estimated 800,000 people against their will into sex and forced labor situations ("Sex Trafficking in the U.S. Called 'epidemic' - Washington Times" 1). Most often, Americans associate this epidemic with third world countries far out of sight and out of mind.

But cases of human trafficking have been reported in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and many U.S. territories (“Human Trafficking of Children in the United States-A Fact Sheet for Schools” 1). Roughly 1.6 million children under age eighteen, both native and foreign born, have become entangled in the sex trade in the United States The Department of Justice has recently estimated that 250,000 American youth are currently at risk of sexual exploitation.

Victims of human trafficking in the United States are not exclusively U.S citizens. Statistics reveal that 14,500-17,500 girls from other countries are smuggled into the U.S. for sex trafficking ("Teen Girls' Stories of Sex Trafficking in U.S. - ABC News” 1). Most immediately, immigrant Mexican women are being trafficked into the U.S. in connection with organized drug crime. The human trafficking crisis very obviously crosses U.S. borders and therefore must be viewed as a transnational issue.

The United States assessed its own performance of combatting the human trafficking trade just last year, in the State Department’s Annual Trafficking in Persons Report. The U.S. listed itself in the top tier of compliance with standards set forward in the Trafficking Victims Prevention Act of 2000. Still, this country is labeled as a source and transit destination for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and prostitution ("U.S. Human Trafficking Report Includes U.S. Cases for First Time - CNN" 1). Politicians in Washington have expressed sentiments of urgency; for example, New Jersey congressman Chris Smith said, “This is modern day slavery at its worst, and it is a winnable war.”

Media attention is often referenced as crucial to winning “wars,” such as that surrounding human trafficking. Dozens of campaigns have launched within the past decade in an attempt to bring attention to, and motivate action against, the human trafficking trade.

For example, MTV launched its EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking) campaign in July 2004. Since its launch, the campaign has created documentaries, music videos, and advertisements through MySpace, Twitter, and Facebook (Piekarz et.al). Later, in February 2007, a nonprofit organization called Not for Sale launched its own campaign of YouTube videos, “to educate and mobilize activists to utilize creative solutions to end slavery in both their own backyards and around the world” (Piekarz et al.). And in 2009, the United States Immigration Customs and Enforcement(ICE) introduced a campaign called Hidden in Plain Sight, which consisted of posters and billboards throughout a dozen major US cities in order to increase awareness about human trafficking (Piekarz et al.).

But how can we measure the effectiveness of these campaigns? One indicator of impact is Google trends, which provides data about how often a certain term is “searched” on the site. In the third quarter of 2004, searches for “human trafficking,” were steadily higher than during the beginning of that year, leading into a huge spike in early 2005. This upward trend correlates with the launch of the MTV EXIT campaign. During the first quarter of 2007, searches for “human trafficking” climbed upward as well, following the start of Not For Sale’s web based campaign. When the ICE’s “Hidden in Plain Sight” campaign began in the last quarter of 2009, there was a similar climb in frequency of searches.

Because the data correlates with the launch of several media campaigns, we can then assume that the media influences public opinion. The question is, what is the result of that peaked interest? To investigate, we must first look at the concrete actions the U.S. has taken to address the human trafficking crisis.

The U.S. has passed four laws in the last decade on the matter, the first being the Trafficking Victims Prevention Act (TVPA) of 2000. This bill pledged $95 million over two years toward anti-trafficking efforts, required the State Department to include human trafficking in its Country Reports on Human Rights, and established severe punishments for those convicted of trafficking in the U.S. (“Federal Human Trafficking Legislation” 1). The Trafficking Victims Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of 2003 created a Special Watch List to track countries involved in human trafficking, and required separate annual reports on human trafficking from the State Department (“Federal Human Trafficking Legislation” 1). TVPRA 2005 required the Attorney General to study the prevalence of trafficking and sex trafficking in the U.S. and gave the FBI $50 million over 2 years to combat human and sex trafficking (“Federal Human Trafficking Legislation” 1). The most recent legislation on human trafficking is the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008. This law directed the president to create a system to monitor anti-trafficking efforts and programs at the federal level and expanded prosecution and data collection efforts on human trafficking (“Federal Human Trafficking Legislation” 1).

We can incorporate this information to our references with media campaigns as such:

Year	Action
2000 (October)	TVPA
2003 (December)	TVPRA
2004 (July)	MTV EXIT campaign
2006 (January)	TVPRA
2007 (February)	Not for Sale Campaign
2008 (December)	William Wilberforce Act
2009	Hidden in Plain Sight Campaign

The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice published A Report on the Tenth Anniversary of the Trafficking Victims Prevention Act. In this evaluation anti-human trafficking efforts in the last decade, the report notes that the most distinguished impact of TVPA is the “the evolution of the strong partnerships between federal, state, local, and international law enforcement, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations who assist victims of human trafficking and advocate to bring an end to modern-day slavery” (Report on the Tenth Anniversary of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act 2). The report also shows that prosecutions of human traffickers have sky-rocketed since the passing of TVPA, and the amount of cumulative cases over five year periods has also steadily increased, addressing alleged incidents against national and foreign victims.

With all of this information, we can conclude our analysis. We first defined human trafficking as an issue both within the U.S. and abroad and understood that it has the capacity to inspire media campaigns. We then correlated those media campaigns to increased public interest, legislative action, and tangible results. Therefore, the media is an effective tool for prompting government action.

But do the actions taken by the US extend far enough to have real impact on the transnational issue as a whole? While the Department of Justice’s report claims increased international cooperation and cites the rescue of victims from within and beyond US borders, the numerical data behind the increased convictions represents only a fraction of the cases and victims of human trafficking worldwide. Thus, solving the crisis for good demands persistent effort—continued interaction, cooperation, and even more legislative action. Still, the developments we have been able to link with media involvement have led to noticeable progress that should serve as both an example of the influential results of peaked public interest, and a starting point for future progress toward putting an end to the human trafficking epidemic all together.

Works Cited

"Federal Human Trafficking Legislation." Human Trafficking Home Page. Northeastern University. Web. 07 Nov. 2011. .

"Human Trafficking of Children in the United States-A Fact Sheet for Schools." U.S. Department of Education. Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools. Web. 07 Nov. 2011. .

Piekarz, Asia, Emily Cowan, and Brittany Finkeldey. National and International Public Awareness Campaigns Against Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation. Rep. Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, 2010. Web. 7 Nov. 2011. .

Report on the Tenth Anniversary of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. Rep. United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, 29 Oct. 2010. Web. 7 Nov. 2011. .

"Sex Trafficking in the U.S. Called 'epidemic' - Washington Times." Washington Times Politics, Breaking News, US and World News. The Washington Times. Web. 07 Nov. 2011. .

"Teen Girls' Stories of Sex Trafficking in U.S. - ABC News." ABCNews.com: Daily News, Breaking News and Video Broadcasts - ABC News. ABC News. Web. 07 Nov. 2011. .

"U.S. Human Trafficking Report Includes U.S. Cases for First Time - CNN." Featured Articles from CNN. CNN, 14 June 2010. Web. 07 Nov. 2011. .