International human trafficking: An agenda-building analysis of the US and British press

Abstract

Many consider international human trafficking, or the transportation of children and adults across national borders for forced labor and services, 21st-century slavery. Academics, lawmakers and international bodies have developed a rich body of literature around trafficking in recent years, while documentarians, screenwriters and artists have placed it squarely in popular discourse. But little is known about how the press translates that knowledge to a lay audience. This study sets out to explore that question, asking how the world’s elite press framed trafficking and with whose or what agenda. The findings offer strong evidence for the US government’s role in framing the issue in the press largely as a sexual phenomenon.

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