Explaining Destination Countries of Human Trafficking with Factors Relevant to Traffickers

Awareness of human trafficking is increasing. This thesis aims to explain why traffickers prefer some countries over others as destination countries. Existing studies on international human trafficking tend to neglect two elements: factors that appeal to traffickers and the country’s role in the international network as a destination country. In this thesis, I demonstrate that drug trafficking flows, legalized prostitution, and higher levels of corruption appeal to traffickers and make countries more likely to be destination countries. I test this with 83 countries from 2006 to 2010. These findings have important implications for those attempting to combat international human trafficking