105 – What You Need to Know About Statistics

This episode is brought to you by Vanguard University and the Global Center for Women and Justice, who offer an incredible anti-human trafficking certificate. Whether you're a frontline responder, a social worker, in the ministry, a healthcare provider, or simply a community member who wants to help, this program is built for you. Head over to gcwj.org/ahtc to take the next step and apply today. ---On this episode of the Ending Human Trafficking Podcast, GCWJ Director Sandra Morgan and Board Member Dave Stachowiak discuss how statistics should be perceived as within the issue of ending human trafficking. There is a push for data driven decision making when discussing and combating human trafficking. How and what data is being used in the agenda to fight human trafficking? The Washington Post addresses how data driven decision making is impacted, how it is arrived, and what data is being used. Glenn Kessler, the Washington Post Fact-Checker, raises the question about the agenda to fight human trafficking in an article entitled, “The false claim that human trafficking is a ‘9.5 billion business’ in the United States“. Kessler is drawing attention to how these statistics in arrived at and how it has made it’s way into the legislative floor in Washington D.C. Statistics becomes a complicated issue within the area of trafficking and individuals need to be careful about using statistics that are reliable and trustworthy. In a 2008 report released by Crimes Against Children Research Center called, “How Many Juveniles Are Involved in Prostitution in the U.S.?”, it provides educated guesses or extrapolations of the number of statistics of juvenile prostitutes but the report cautions and advices in bold letters to not cite these numbers. The use of statistics must be used with caution and accuracy because it can at times hurt the argument in the fight to end human trafficking. Please take a moment to rate the Podcast on ITunes! Resources: Washington Post: The false claim that human trafficking is a ‘9.5 billion business’ in the United States Crimes Against Children Research Center Report: How Many Juveniles Are Involved in Prostitution in the U.S.? Covenant House Report: Homeless, Sexual Sex and Human Trafficking Orange County Human Trafficking Taskforce Podcast 15: Homelessness and Human Trafficking – How They Connect Podcast 41: Preventing Trafficking by Preventing Homelessness Child Abuse Statistics in Orange County Dr. Sandra Morgan’s new blog Global Center for Women and Justice Like us on Facebook! If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to subscribe or rate the podcast on iTunes by clicking here. Click here for FAQs about podcasts and how to subscribe. Haven’t been receiving our newsletter? Visit our homepage to join today. Contact us with questions, comments, or suggestions by contacting us through our homepage.