Sex Trafficking from a Supply Chain Systems Perspective

Human trafficking is the third most profitable international criminal activity. This study demonstrates that human rights violations are organised into sophisticated supply chains. Supply chain systems provide integrated semi-automated logistics capability for the flow of goods and services into a market. Few studies of international stability examine human trafficking, and sex trafficking specifically, from this perspective. Policies rarely address sex trafficking as a supply chain system, and therefore an important part of policy formulation. This preliminary study explored sex trafficking from a supply chain systems perspective. It gathered secondary data which is presented and interpreted. Conclusions were drawn about important factors that facilitate sex trafficking supply chain systems and possible policy interventions which are likely to be effective. The primary contribution of this paper is to demonstrate that sex trafficking, as an example of a systematic human rights violation, can be examined from a control system and process management perspective.