Chronicling a crisis: media framing of human trafficking in India, Thailand, and the USA

Abstract

Despite the vast research on human trafficking, little is known about mass media coverage of the issue. This study, a quantitative content analysis of English-language news coverage of human trafficking in the USA, India, and Thailand, analyzes human trafficking coverage before and after the launch of a large-scale international anti-trafficking treaty to determine whether the treaty had an impact on the amount and framing of media coverage on the issue. Findings reveal that while coverage of the issue increased after the treaty, was more localized, and suggested causes and remedies more frequently, it also placed less blame for the problem occurring, focused primarily on crime and policy sides of human trafficking rather than human rights or public health, and lacked the voices of victims. How the news media, and in turn the public, deal with mediating such an issue is a significant and meaningful question, and this paper suggests that United Nations policy-makers need to take proactive steps in order for policy information to be more thoroughly disseminated via the news media.