{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/103246"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/103246","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Vulnerability, Victimization and VIVA: A Cluster Analysis of Cross-National Human Trafficking Victims","abstract":"Human trafficking, the cruel and inhumane crime that it is, exploits the lives of millions of people around the world. My study explores the common vulnerabilities that exist for victims of cross-national human trafficking. First, I analyze literature discussing individual and country- level victim demographics to identify characteristics that predict recruitment or abduction into human trafficking. Using the 2017 Counter Trafficking Data Collaborative, I demonstrate the applicability of Cohen and Felson's 1979 Routine Activity Theory (RAT) to explain the vulnerabilities to victimization further. More specifically, I use VIVA to assess the methods of control and types of exploitation utilized by domestic and international traffickers. A sociological study that combines the work of RAT and VIVA in relation to human trafficking victimization is yet to exist, therefore I am seeking to fill this research gap. The overarching goal of this study is to form a victim profile through cluster analysis and logistic regression in order to locate the unique patterns of victimization. My findings demonstrate that there is a significant relationship between the three clusters formed, the methods of control used by the perpetrator (physical, psychological, and economic abuse), and the types of exploitation suffered by the victim (sexual and labor exploitation).","abstract_html":"Human trafficking, the cruel and inhumane crime that it is, exploits the lives of millions of people around the world. My study explores the common vulnerabilities that exist for victims of cross-national human trafficking. First, I analyze literature discussing individual and country- level victim demographics to identify characteristics that predict recruitment or abduction into human trafficking. Using the 2017 Counter Trafficking Data Collaborative, I demonstrate the applicability of Cohen and Felson's 1979 Routine Activity Theory (RAT) to explain the vulnerabilities to victimization further. More specifically, I use VIVA to assess the methods of control and types of exploitation utilized by domestic and international traffickers. A sociological study that combines the work of RAT and VIVA in relation to human trafficking victimization is yet to exist, therefore I am seeking to fill this research gap. The overarching goal of this study is to form a victim profile through cluster analysis and logistic regression in order to locate the unique patterns of victimization. My findings demonstrate that there is a significant relationship between the three clusters formed, the methods of control used by the perpetrator (physical, psychological, and economic abuse), and the types of exploitation suffered by the victim (sexual and labor exploitation).","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Kidd, Rachel Marie"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Sociology","degree_department":"Sociology","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Hawdon, James E."],"committee_members":["Parti, Katalin","Reichelmann, Ashley Veronica"],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-05-11","date_published":"2021-05-11","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:18:50Z","subjects":["human trafficking","victim","vulnerability","sex trafficking","labor trafficking","routine activity theory"],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:30399"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:30399","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/103246","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Hawdon, James E."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Parti, Katalin","Reichelmann, Ashley Veronica"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Sociology"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Kidd, Rachel Marie"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2021-05-12T08:00:28Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2021-05-12T08:00:28Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2021-05-11"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Sociology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["human trafficking","victim","vulnerability","sex trafficking","labor trafficking","routine activity theory"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:30399"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/103246"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Human trafficking, the cruel and inhumane crime that it is, exploits the lives of millions of people around the world. My study explores the common vulnerabilities that exist for victims of cross-national human trafficking. First, I analyze literature discussing individual and country- level victim demographics to identify characteristics that predict recruitment or abduction into human trafficking. Using the 2017 Counter Trafficking Data Collaborative, I demonstrate the applicability of Cohen and Felson's 1979 Routine Activity Theory (RAT) to explain the vulnerabilities to victimization further. More specifically, I use VIVA to assess the methods of control and types of exploitation utilized by domestic and international traffickers. A sociological study that combines the work of RAT and VIVA in relation to human trafficking victimization is yet to exist, therefore I am seeking to fill this research gap. The overarching goal of this study is to form a victim profile through cluster analysis and logistic regression in order to locate the unique patterns of victimization. My findings demonstrate that there is a significant relationship between the three clusters formed, the methods of control used by the perpetrator (physical, psychological, and economic abuse), and the types of exploitation suffered by the victim (sexual and labor exploitation)."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstractgeneral","label":"General Abstract","values":["Human trafficking is the abduction and exploitation of individuals, in which victims are manipulated into sex or labor trafficking in unfamiliar environments without compensation. Trafficking occurs beyond national borders, therefore I look at victims originating from all over the globe. The literature I utilize looks at individual-level demographics and national-level characteristics. I then use a database to link certain social and theoretical elements of these demographics and characteristics to the methods of control and types of exploitation traffickers enforce upon their victims. Overall, this study forms a victim profile and locates the unique patterns of trafficking victimization through multiple data applications. My thesis concludes with findings on clusters that combine age, gender, recruiter relations, literacy rates, and trafficking laws and regressions that link these clusters to physical, psychological, and economic control as well as sexual and labor exploitation."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["ETD"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Vulnerability, Victimization and VIVA: A Cluster Analysis of Cross-National Human Trafficking Victims"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Hawdon, James E."],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Parti, Katalin","Reichelmann, Ashley Veronica"],"dc:contributor.department":["Sociology"],"dc:creator":["Kidd, Rachel Marie"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2021-05-12T08:00:28Z"],"dc:date.available":["2021-05-12T08:00:28Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2021-05-11"],"dc:description.abstract":["Human trafficking, the cruel and inhumane crime that it is, exploits the lives of millions of people around the world. My study explores the common vulnerabilities that exist for victims of cross-national human trafficking. First, I analyze literature discussing individual and country- level victim demographics to identify characteristics that predict recruitment or abduction into human trafficking. Using the 2017 Counter Trafficking Data Collaborative, I demonstrate the applicability of Cohen and Felson's 1979 Routine Activity Theory (RAT) to explain the vulnerabilities to victimization further. More specifically, I use VIVA to assess the methods of control and types of exploitation utilized by domestic and international traffickers. A sociological study that combines the work of RAT and VIVA in relation to human trafficking victimization is yet to exist, therefore I am seeking to fill this research gap. The overarching goal of this study is to form a victim profile through cluster analysis and logistic regression in order to locate the unique patterns of victimization. My findings demonstrate that there is a significant relationship between the three clusters formed, the methods of control used by the perpetrator (physical, psychological, and economic abuse), and the types of exploitation suffered by the victim (sexual and labor exploitation)."],"dc:description.abstractgeneral":["Human trafficking is the abduction and exploitation of individuals, in which victims are manipulated into sex or labor trafficking in unfamiliar environments without compensation. Trafficking occurs beyond national borders, therefore I look at victims originating from all over the globe. The literature I utilize looks at individual-level demographics and national-level characteristics. I then use a database to link certain social and theoretical elements of these demographics and characteristics to the methods of control and types of exploitation traffickers enforce upon their victims. Overall, this study forms a victim profile and locates the unique patterns of trafficking victimization through multiple data applications. My thesis concludes with findings on clusters that combine age, gender, recruiter relations, literacy rates, and trafficking laws and regressions that link these clusters to physical, psychological, and economic control as well as sexual and labor exploitation."],"dc:description.degree":["Master of Science"],"dc:format.medium":["ETD"],"dc:identifier.other":["vt_gsexam:30399"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/103246"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["human trafficking","victim","vulnerability","sex trafficking","labor trafficking","routine activity theory"],"dc:title":["Vulnerability, Victimization and VIVA: A Cluster Analysis of Cross-National Human Trafficking Victims"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Sociology"],"thesis:degree_level":["masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:18:50Z"}