Date of Conferral

2023

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Linda Talley

Abstract

Human trafficking is a worldwide phenomenon that uses fraud, force, or coercion to subjugate human beings into a modern form of slavery. Male and transgender victims have been excluded from previous research and as a result, the numbers of victims identifying as male, and transgender is unknown. This study examined the impact of gender and victim blame on the identification of human trafficking victims, particularly male and transgender. The theoretical frameworks of feminist theory and belief in a just world theory supported the study and supported the hypotheses. The research questions focused on the impact of gender and victim blame as it pertained to male and transgender human trafficking victims. The study was a quantitative study with a cross-sectional design, that used the Modified Victim Blaming Measure. A pilot study was conducted within the full study to determine the validity of the measure. There were 450 participants who completed the measure and an ANOVA and MANOVA was used to analyze the data from the vignette questions to determine any significance. The findings of the analysis revealed that gender and the trafficking situation both significantly impact victim blame attributed to human trafficking victims. The analysis also found that the identification of the victims was impacted by the trafficking situation suggesting that victims are less likely to be identified. This study helps support social change through the inclusion of all victims of human trafficking and by providing more information on the impact that gender and victim blame have on these victims.

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