Projects
A lack of accurate and standardized data has long challenged the anti-trafficking movement's ability to design successful policies to combat severe exploitation. The Stanford Human Trafficking Data Lab is changing the game with an AI-native “think-and-do” tank approach that combines rigorous research, ethical design, and hands-on collaboration. Our diverse technical skillsets and unique data-driven approaches enable quantitative empirical research at a scale and caliber not previously possible.
Grounded in the principle of open-source, modular, and replicable design, the Lab takes research a step further toward measurable impact while empowering local partners to deploy and govern their own data-driven solutions.
The Lab’s path from science to impact spans the “4 Ps” of the anti-trafficking framework:
Protection
Strengthening survivor-centered care through modern case management and more reliable connections to existing social safety nets and victim care systems.
Prevention
Identifying vulnerable populations, sectors, and regions by analyzing root causes and disrupting exploitative pathways.
Taken together, we study the broader human trafficking landscape, building evidence on the ways in which trafficking markets operate, what makes people vulnerable to trafficking, the ways in which perpetrators evade consequences, and how well current interventions are - or are not - working. Alongside our community partners, we are improving outcomes for vulnerable populations and survivors at local, national, and international levels.
First-of-its-Kind Anti-Trafficking Data Hub
The Lab’s research-enabled Data Hub offers an unprecedented window into the complex world of human trafficking, integrating the details of thousands of known cases with AI-native analytics to shed light on the experience of survivors and the tactics perpetrators use to exploit them.
Better Targeted Anti-Trafficking Inspection Efforts in Brazil
The Lab has developed and deployed a new decision support system that uses human-centered artificial intelligence to enhance the work of Brazilian anti-trafficking investigators. The tool is designed to help investigators accurately identify and target multi-agency task force inspections more effectively, identify clusters of cases and opportunities to bundle site inspections together, and direct limited resources more efficiently, and reach victims faster.
Assessing Mechanisms to Hold Corporations Accountable for Severe Labor Exploitation
Leveraging time-series stock price data, court records, and corporate ownership network data, the Lab is examining the repercussions of Brazil’s Dirty List for implicated companies.
Understanding the Impact of Poverty Relief Human Trafficking Vulnerability for Adults and Children
The Lab is studying the role of Brazil’s flagship anti-poverty program in protecting beneficiaries from exploitative labor, including both child labor and adult labor trafficking.
Measuring Human Trafficking Prevalence in Brazil’s Agricultural & Charcoal Sectors
As a core member of the U.S. State Department’s Prevalence Research and Innovation Forum, the Lab conducted a large-scale, population-representative survey of agricultural workers in Brazil to learn about the true prevalence of trafficking and trafficking-related exploitative labor practices in the agricultural sector.
Using AI to Detect Human Trafficking from Space in and around the Brazilian Amazon
Powered by AI neural networks, the Lab’s remote detection technology accurately pinpoints precise locations in and around the Brazilian Amazon where illegal deforestation and forced labor likely converge in producing charcoal used in the steel supply chain.
AI-Enhanced Labor Trafficking Prosecution and Civil Penalties
The Lab is evaluating whether our AI-driven decision support tool designed to help prosecutors more efficiently identify and pursue labor trafficking cases increases both the number of cases advancing to formal prosecution and the monetary value of civil penalties and restitution obtained.
Promoting Longterm Support and Improved Outcomes for Brazilian Trafficking Survivors
In partnership with frontline anti-trafficking government actors and civil society organizations in Brazil, the Lab is working to improve services and support for survivors of labor exploitation. By piloting a trauma-informed, survivor-centered peer counseling program and enhancing Brazil’s Victim Case Management System, the Lab aims to improve post-trafficking outcomes for survivors and reduce the risk of (re)trafficking among vulnerable communities.
Detecting Human Trafficking and Deforestation in Brazilian Charcoal Supply Chains
The Lab is developing a novel data-driven technical tool to identify both trafficking and illegal deforestation in steel supply chains. Chain-Link takes a bottom-up approach, mapping supply chains affected by documented cases of labor trafficking and illegal deforestation among commodity producers by creating digital paper trails connecting producers to buyers through publicly available but siloed administrative and legal records. The aim is to help regulators, investors, civil society, and lead firms take evidence-based, targeted action toward better labor practices and more sustainable production. The project will test if such technologies are effective using a nationally implemented randomized controlled trial.