What the media gets right (and wrong) about human trafficking
We draw many of our perspectives about the world from media outlets. We rely on the news to provide accurate information about current events. We look to journalists and social media influencers to know which issues we should care about. Given the influence of media on our day-to-day lives, it comes as no surprise that the media has the power to shape our conception of human trafficking. Media outlets can be leveraged to empower victims, speak plainly about the atrocities committed by perpetrators, and bring awareness to the prevalence of trafficking.
However, the media does not always speak about human trafficking in ways that are helpful, or even accurate. When poorly executed, news sources and social media can have a variety of negative impacts on victims and on public perceptions of trafficking.
Sensationalized Stories
Stories are remarkable tools for empowering victims to speak out about their experiences and to encourage advocacy. Well-told stories are both moving and memorable. But, the media can turn stories of exploitation into sensational tales that exaggerate some components of a survivor’s experiences, while downplaying others.
Instead: Well-told stories of trafficking should depict stories of survivors both accurately and respectfully, without seeking undue drama or “shock factor.”
Damaging Interview Processes
Interviews are a common venue in which survivors choose to share their experiences. Many survivors would attest that being able to publicly share their story provided them with a sense of validation, autonomous choice, and empowerment that they lacked within the confines of enslavement. But interviews may also force interviewees to relive painful memories or respond to questions they would rather keep private. Published interviews also have the potential to misrepresent or misquote the interviewee or identify them without their consent.
Instead: Well-written interviews should authentically reflect the words and intentions of the survivor. They must be conducted by interviewers who are sensitive, empathetic, and respectful of the survivor’s wishes and emotions.
Beating around the bush and inaccurate terminology
Human trafficking is a crime that impacts virtually all communities. When media outlets choose to beat around the bush when speaking or writing about human trafficking, they reduce the suffering that victims and survivors experience, as well as minimize the harmful actions taken by perpetrators. For example, referring to child sex trafficking victims as “underage prostitutes” reduces the roles of coercion, grooming, and abuse in the lives of these children.
Instead: Responsible media outlets must avoid unnecessary shock factor, while using terminology that plainly portrays the experiences of survivors and actions of human traffickers.
Stereotyped images
Visual images are powerful tools in shaping a reader’s perception of human trafficking.
Stock images of trafficking victims in handcuffs or with highly visible bruises and injuries, while representative of the tragic realities of some trafficked individuals, sends the message that human trafficking is always visually obvious. These stereotyped images undermine the importance of community members knowing how to recognize less obvious signs of trafficking.
Instead: The use of visual images should humanize victims and survivors of trafficking. This can be done by protecting the identity of the individual when necessary or requested, avoiding sensationalized stock photos, and publishing images that portray the physical realities of victims realistically rather than portraying victims as criminals or weak.
Complacency
The media has a significant role to play in rejecting harmful messages surrounding human trafficking. Media outlets also have a responsibility to protect victims and survivors by refusing perpetrators virtual or physical access to current or potential victims. Social media sites such as Facebook and online messaging platforms have received increased publicity in recent months for their apparent inability to control what activities, advertisements, and conversations appear on their sites—even when crimes are involved. When executives and journalists take a complacent approach to protecting victims of human trafficking and preventing traffickers from gaining access to victims, the online human trafficking industry grows.
Instead: Media outlets can adopt policies, procedures, and standards that proactively seek to eradicate human trafficking from their platforms and send the message that perpetrators of trafficking cannot hide behind a screen. This may include enforcing age restrictions on messaging platforms, creating legal systems to prevent situations of online trafficking, and publishing crisis and hotline numbers for victims who have access to these sites.
As an advocate, how have you seen trafficking portrayed in the news outlets and media platforms that you frequent? Are the sources you look to accurate, respectful of victims, and diligent in fighting trafficking?
The media occupies an increasingly important role in how we respond to social issues. Media outlets, news sources, and journalists therefore have a responsibility to respond appropriately to, and speak accurately about human trafficking. As an advocate, you can play a part by encouraging your preferred news and media outlets to report on these issues in a way that is accurate, thereby respecting the dignity of those who may otherwise be victimized.
About the Author
Holland Freeman is a Pacific Northwest native and pine tree enthusiast studying Religion and Conflict Management at Pepperdine University. She is keen on exploring this lovely earth by lacing up her running shoes, backpacking through the forest, and journaling on a European train heading who-knows-where. She plans to continue in her passion for advocacy and human rights through graduate studies in the field of Theology and Peace Studies.