In recent years, the trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation has become a major focus on the local, national, and global level. This is despite research, which has identified labor trafficking to be a significantly larger issue across the globe. The purpose of this research is to identify how human trafficking has come to be defined in Kentucky by examining how prominent local actors guide the state’s anti-trafficking movement. Through interactions with non-profit organizations, law enforcement, and concerned citizens, factors and forces that may shape the public’s conception of human trafficking were examined. While the stated goal of most anti-trafficking advocates is to prosecute traffickers and rescue victims, the dominant understanding of human trafficking in Kentucky has shaped the anti-trafficking response in a way that does not necessarily focus on the needs of the victim in intervention efforts. This may create a narrow construction of the phenomenon that ignores larger structural issues such as gender and economic inequality, migrant patterns, and patriarchy.
","abstract_html":"<p>In recent years, the trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation has become a major focus on the local, national, and global level. This is despite research, which has identified labor trafficking to be a significantly larger issue across the globe. The purpose of this research is to identify how human trafficking has come to be defined in Kentucky by examining how prominent local actors guide the state’s anti-trafficking movement. Through interactions with non-profit organizations, law enforcement, and concerned citizens, factors and forces that may shape the public’s conception of human trafficking were examined. While the stated goal of most anti-trafficking advocates is to prosecute traffickers and rescue victims, the dominant understanding of human trafficking in Kentucky has shaped the anti-trafficking response in a way that does not necessarily focus on the needs of the victim in intervention efforts. This may create a narrow construction of the phenomenon that ignores larger structural issues such as gender and economic inequality, migrant patterns, and patriarchy. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Dunn, Molly"],"institution":"Eastern Kentucky University","degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Master's","degree_discipline":"Justice Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:32Z","subjects":["critical criminology","evangelical christianity","human trafficking","Criminology and Criminal Justice"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright 2016 Molly Dunn"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/362","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Dunn, Molly"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Master Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Justice Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Eastern Kentucky University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["critical criminology","evangelical christianity","human trafficking","Criminology and Criminal Justice"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2016 Molly Dunn"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/362"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In recent years, the trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation has become a major focus on the local, national, and global level. This is despite research, which has identified labor trafficking to be a significantly larger issue across the globe. The purpose of this research is to identify how human trafficking has come to be defined in Kentucky by examining how prominent local actors guide the state’s anti-trafficking movement. Through interactions with non-profit organizations, law enforcement, and concerned citizens, factors and forces that may shape the public’s conception of human trafficking were examined. While the stated goal of most anti-trafficking advocates is to prosecute traffickers and rescue victims, the dominant understanding of human trafficking in Kentucky has shaped the anti-trafficking response in a way that does not necessarily focus on the needs of the victim in intervention efforts. This may create a narrow construction of the phenomenon that ignores larger structural issues such as gender and economic inequality, migrant patterns, and patriarchy.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Carving a New Notch in the Bible Belt: Rescuing the Women of Kentucky"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Dunn, Molly"],"dc:description.abstract":["In recent years, the trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation has become a major focus on the local, national, and global level. This is despite research, which has identified labor trafficking to be a significantly larger issue across the globe. The purpose of this research is to identify how human trafficking has come to be defined in Kentucky by examining how prominent local actors guide the state’s anti-trafficking movement. Through interactions with non-profit organizations, law enforcement, and concerned citizens, factors and forces that may shape the public’s conception of human trafficking were examined. While the stated goal of most anti-trafficking advocates is to prosecute traffickers and rescue victims, the dominant understanding of human trafficking in Kentucky has shaped the anti-trafficking response in a way that does not necessarily focus on the needs of the victim in intervention efforts. This may create a narrow construction of the phenomenon that ignores larger structural issues such as gender and economic inequality, migrant patterns, and patriarchy.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/362"],"dc:publisher":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2016 Molly Dunn"],"dc:source":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"],"dc:subject":["critical criminology","evangelical christianity","human trafficking","Criminology and Criminal Justice"],"dc:title":["Carving a New Notch in the Bible Belt: Rescuing the Women of Kentucky"],"dc:type":["Master Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Justice Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"],"thesis:institution_name":["Eastern Kentucky University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:32Z"}