Houston-Kolnik Jaclyn D, Soibatian Christina, Shattell Mona M
Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, Chicago, IL, USA.
DePaul University, Chicago, IL, USA.
J Interpers Violence. 2020 Mar;35(5-6):1108-1132. doi: 10.1177/0886260517692337. Epub 2017 Feb 21.
The present qualitative study explores advocates' opinions of misinformation about human trafficking in the media and describes advocates' strategies to counter the misinformation presented by the media. Thus, 15 advocates who work against human trafficking in Chicago-based nonprofit organizations participated in semistructured interviews about their opinions and strategies. Data were analyzed using thematic content analysis. The present study identifies specific misperceptions of human trafficking in the media, highlights advocates' opinions of this misinformation, and discusses advocates' strategies to counteract inaccurate media, adding support to the role of media advocacy. Advocates note how media images shape and perpetuate stereotypes of trafficking through glamorizing sex work and sensationalizing stories that are most often international depictions of trafficking. Advocates report media generally shares only a piece of the story, simplifying the stories of survivors and the issue of human trafficking. Advocates critique media perpetuating these misperceptions for how they may contribute to policies and programs which fail to address structural factors that create vulnerabilities to be trafficked and the multisystem needs of survivors. However, advocates also note misperceptions can be counteracted by producing sensitive, informed media through social platforms. Advocates share their strategies counteracting misinformation through engaging in informative conversations, utilizing social media to educate, and promoting media messages of survivor agency. Research, clinical, and policy implications are also discussed. The present study emphasizes the importance of decision makers and service providers being critical consumers of media and to assess how media portrayals may (or may not) inform their understanding and response to the issue.
本定性研究探讨了倡导者对媒体中有关人口贩运错误信息的看法，并描述了倡导者应对媒体所呈现错误信息的策略。因此，15名在芝加哥非营利组织从事反人口贩运工作的倡导者参与了关于他们的看法和策略的半结构化访谈。数据采用主题内容分析法进行分析。本研究识别了媒体中对人口贩运的具体误解，突出了倡导者对这些错误信息的看法，并讨论了倡导者应对不准确媒体报道的策略，为媒体宣传的作用提供了支持。倡导者指出，媒体形象如何通过美化性工作和渲染那些最常见的国际人口贩运描述的故事来塑造并延续人口贩运的刻板印象。倡导者报告称，媒体通常只报道部分情况，简化了幸存者的故事和人口贩运问题。倡导者批评媒体延续这些误解，因为它们可能导致政策和项目无法解决造成易被贩运脆弱性的结构性因素以及幸存者的多系统需求。然而，倡导者也指出，可以通过社交平台制作敏感、信息充分的媒体内容来消除误解。倡导者分享了他们通过进行信息交流、利用社交媒体进行教育以及推广关于幸存者能动性的媒体信息来应对错误信息的策略。研究、临床和政策方面的影响也进行了讨论。本研究强调了决策者和服务提供者成为批判性媒体消费者的重要性，以及评估媒体描述如何（或可能不）影响他们对该问题的理解和应对。
