This 2026 Dignity article examines whether online sex buyer forums function as organized criminal networks. Analyzing more than 1.2 million posts from nearly 73,000 users, the authors uncover persistent communities, influential facilitators, geographic clustering, and coordinated information-sharing that promotes illegal commercial sex, reduces buyers’ risks, and sustains a decentralized digital ecosystem of exploitation.

This Journal of Human Trafficking article challenges the widely held assumption that human trafficking in the United States is primarily driven by large transnational organized crime groups. Introducing a novel 5-S typology, the authors analyze more than 2,390 federal trafficking cases to reveal the diverse organizational structures behind trafficking and their implications for policy, enforcement, and future research.

This Harvard Data Science Review article introduces a collaborative framework for building a survivor-centered Human Trafficking Data Ecosystem. It outlines a blueprint for shared governance, modern data infrastructure, and standardized terminology to improve data quality, coordination, and evidence-based responses to trafficking.