Clinic Launches Human Trafficking Database
The Law School's Human Trafficking Clinical Program has launched the nation's only comprehensive online database of human trafficking cases, a project designed to help journalists, academics, lawmakers, and law enforcement agencies track U.S. cases and spread information about modern-day slavery.
The database currently provides access to the details of more than 150 human trafficking cases gathered so far by the Human Trafficking Law Project, and is being updated regulary. The searchable listings contain the stories of children tricked into leaving their homes in West Africa, then forced to work without pay in American hair-braiding shops; girls and young women prostituted on American streets; and workers who toiled against their will on American farms.
"The University of Michigan's human trafficking database is a critical advance in the fight against modern slavery," said Luis CdeBaca, '93, Ambassador-at-Large in the U.S. Department of State's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. "Whether a practitioner or a policymaker, an advocate or academic—the work of all modern abolitionists will benefit from this compendium."
Each database entry is carefully screened and researched by law students, recent law graduates, and other volunteers who flesh out the initial results of LexisNexis and other searches. The researchers then make entries into such individually searchable fields as name, state, and category of offense. To ensure reliable data, each entry is reviewed by a program manager before it becomes visible to the public.
"The database was a huge undertaking for the Clinic, and we're so grateful for the support of the Law School and the hard work of the students and graduates who brought the project to fruition," said Bridgette Carr, '02, director of the Human Trafficking Clinic. "Its launch is a major step toward the Clinic's goal of not just representing individual victims, but also being a resource for other educators and practitioners involved in the fight against human trafficking."—JM
www.law.umich.edu/clinical/HuTrafficCases
More information about the Human Trafficking Clinic...