Uncovering Parallels in Humanitarian and Trafficking Supply Chains to Disrupt Exploitation

The drive to explore these parallels arose from stories shared by colleagues who witnessed the vulnerabilities of women and children in refugee camps. Such accounts underscore how critical it is to understand and disrupt trafficking networks, especially through insights from humanitarian logistics.

Despite ongoing efforts, slavery persists in today’s world. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), around 49.6 million people were affected by modern slavery in 2022, including 27.6 million in forced labor and 22 million in forced marriages (ILO, 2022). These figures likely underrepresent the full scope, with women and children—especially girls—disproportionately impacted. Alarmingly, one in every four victims is a child (ILO, 2017).

Modern slavery covers various human rights violations, including human trafficking. According to the United Nations’ Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, human trafficking is defined as: “The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons, by means of the **threat or use of force or coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or vulnerability, or payments to obtain consent of a person controlling another, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation includes, at minimum, prostitution, forced labor or services, slavery or similar practices, servitude, or removal of organs.” Transportation is not always necessary in cases of trafficking.

Together with Professor Kezban Yagci Sokat from San Jose State University, an anti-trafficking supply chain expert, we conducted a study to better understand the links between humanitarian operations and anti-trafficking supply chains and to promote cross-learning between these fields.

Although humanitarian and trafficking supply chains have different objectives, they unfortunately share similarities, particularly regarding operational environments. For instance, following Hurricane Katrina, the U.S. government aimed to lower construction labor costs by loosening eligibility and identity verification requirements. These changes inadvertently increased exploitation, with over 3,700 individuals becoming trafficking victims (Hepburn, 2012). Traffickers often exploit vulnerable populations, especially women and children, during disaster responses.

Both supply chains operate under uncertainty—for example, unpredictability in timing. They face constraints such as limited resources and complex trade-offs. In trafficking cases, a key question might be whether to prioritize punishing perpetrators to deter future offenses or rescuing victims swiftly. Humanitarian supply chains also must decide whether resources should go toward preparedness or response efforts. Both fields involve stakeholders with evolving roles; former victims may become perpetrators, and unexpected behaviors, such as victims returning to traffickers or attacks on humanitarian workers, may arise.

The risk of trafficking escalates with certain disaster types. Our findings illustrate that persistent disasters increase this risk, with refugees especially vulnerable. Humanitarian organizations and governments must adjust readiness levels to identify and assist trafficking victims effectively.