NOTE: This guest post was written by Morgan McMichen. Morgan is a graduate student at the Seton Hall School of Diplomacy and International Relations. Her specializations are in International Organizations and Global Negotiations and Conflict Management. Morgan’s interests are the function of international institutions in a global society and negotiation as a means of deterring conflict among multinational actors.
9/28/2017
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) along with the Dutch National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings and Sexual Violence against Children joined forces to present their findings on MSE, or multiple systems estimation. The presenters were Kristiina Kangaspunta of UNODC and the Dutch National Rapporteur, C.E. Dettmeijer-Vermuelen. The initial effort to uncover an accurate number of human trafficking victims in the Netherlands began with the UNODC’s initiative to help states monitor SDG indicator 16.2.2 (number of victims of human trafficking per 100.000 population by sex, age, and form of exploitation). If the number of victims (detected and undetected) is known, this aids the Netherlands in effectively combating the problem. Furthermore, the tool used for tracking can also be used by other member states to do the same. As issues related to human trafficking appear in four of the 17 SDGs, there is a strong commitment to confront this issue.
How can a method first developed to count fish be used to combat human trafficking? MSE is a more comprehensive and multi-faceted system than systems used in the past. It uses multi-year data and four covariates (gender, age, nationality, and form of exploitation) collected over several platforms and the data that overlaps gives indicators of exploitation. Knowing the different statistics, such as demographics and nationality, about the victims will help in targeting the source of exploitation. Implementing a system like this is important since human trafficking in a hidden crime where there exists a large “dark figure” as most victims are not revealed. This system helps to shrink the “dark figure” and yield a more accurate assessment of the problem.
After the presentation concluded the presenters opened up the floor for questions. Many great questions were asked about the system itself and how it operates to better serve its purpose. Some pointed out possible statistical biases or other variable that should be included. The presenters gave due credit to the fact that the system is still being experimented with and needs more work to serve more effectively. They invited people from civil society and the private sector to invest in helping with this process. I asked the question about how this system could help in the prevention aspect of human trafficking. MSE will help with uncovering the gravity of the problem and to systematically document the cases, but the real aim is to eradicate the problem altogether. C.E. Dettmeijer-Vermuelen answered me by stressing that any knowledge gathered is power in eradicating human trafficking as it tells us where to focus our policies. Also, revealing the actual numbers of cases serve as “wake-up calls” for governments as well as calls to action by organizations.
For more information about his report or the MSE system, please click here.