Research & Development

Photo courtesy of CNN's Freedom Project

Photo courtesy of CNN’s Freedom Project

Across the world and in the streets of your own town, human traffickers, gang members, exploiters and oppressors are generating more than 30 billion dollars of profit annually by selling men, women and children into sexual bondage and slavery. More children, women and men are victims of modern-day slavery today than at any other point in history.

Human trafficking and modern-day slavery operates under a well-established business model: supply (the victims), distribution (the traffickers), and demand (the customers). While there are many organizations that focus on supply (public awareness), distribution and victim services, GC uniquely targets the demand side of the equationthe perpetrators, exploiters, buyers and end-users of human beings, seeking to prevent modern-day slavery at its source.

Since 2008, GC has employed a unique, three-pronged, preventative approach to combat demand by:(1) Developing demand-reduction research and programs; (2) Providing innovative education, awareness and advocacy training to communities, civic leaders, NGOs, law enforcement and at-risk populations; and, (3) Establishing partnership and collaborative networks to address human trafficking.

Global Centurion’s Research & Development

International Modern Slavery Case Law Database

GCs anchor research project is an International Case Law Database, the purpose of which is to create a searchable, longitudinal database of all forms of human trafficking including sex trafficking, labor trafficking, forced labor, bonded labor, debt bondage, involuntary domestic servitude, forced child labor, child soldiers, child sex trafficking, child sex tourism, commercial sexual exploitation of women and children. The project uses case law to obtain data on perpetrators, victims and the patterns of these crimes within and between countries. Over 10,000 human trafficking cases (arrests, prosecutions, convictions) have been reported by governments in the last ten years. Global Centurion has developed a unique methodology for identifying, analyzing, and coding these foreign national cases and extracting relevant data points to include in the database. The database contains data that provides victim profiles, perpetrator profiles, and crime profiles. Read More >>

Criminal Street Gangs and Human Trafficking: Establishing the Link

Over the last fifteen years, criminal gang activity in the United States has become a serious problem. At the same time, human trafficking has emerged as one of the fastest growing crimes in the U.S. GC uncovered over two hundred cases in which gang members have been involved in human trafficking (recruiting, transporting, harboring, obtaining, or selling a person for purposes of commercial sexual exploitation or involuntary servitude). Global Centurion analyzed the case law for patterns, including recruitment methods, methods of coercion and control, age of trafficking victims, and more. Using this newly collected data, GC examined anti-gang and anti-trafficking law and policy and drew up a set of recommendations for government officials, policy-makers, community leaders and educators. The work influenced members of Congress, as well as state and legislators, resulting in new laws addressing the link between street gangs and sex trafficking. In addition, working with a local service provider, Courtneys House, GC created presentations for Washington area community centers, churches, and schools to educated citizens and students about the dangers of sex trafficking in street gangs. Read more >>

First Offender Prostitution Programs (“John Schools” Survey)

Currently there are thirty-nine documented First Offender Prostitution Programs in the United States and eight in Canada. In an effort to better understand the nature and scope of the programs, as well as their efficacy, Global Centurion conducted a survey of the schools to obtain a general overview of their offerings. The survey documented a wide variety of schools with a broad range of educational components including legal, health, societal, community and personal safety consequences of buying sex. Based on preliminary findings, several articles have been drafted and one published to date. A full report will be available shortly.

Mapping Hubs of Demand

Global Centurion has created a set of maps identifying major hubs of demand for sex trafficking and labor trafficking around the world. The purpose of these maps is to assist in understanding what drives the trade in human beings worldwide. Most current information on human trafficking focuses on the victims, including the number of victims, their age, their nationality, and the harms they have suffered. These maps focus for the first time on the end buyer/user/exploiter. They give viewers a global look at the various types of demand. For example, in sex trafficking, major demand hubs are created by sporting events such as the Superbowl or World Cup; U.S. and other military presence or other R & R in economically or politically unstable countries; and sex tourism and child sex tourism, and more. In labor trafficking, any product that is labor intensive (i.e., requires many human beings to produce) has the potential for creating conditions of demand for labor trafficking and slavery. These include garment worker factories; agricultural work; construction work, mining of diamonds, gold, coltan and other valuable minerals; domestic workers, and more. This project is on-going: other hubs of demand are added to the maps as they are identified and documented. Read more >>

Global Centurion’s Comprehensive Review of Projects and Organizations with Demand-Focused Programs

Global Centurion has conducted a comprehensive review of articles, NGOs, faith-based organizations, projects, books, first-offender programs, codes of conduct and federal, state and and local efforts that focus on demand. Read more >>