Anti-trafficking and humanitarian operations: transferring learnings for a better world

PurposeThe purpose of this study is twofold: first, to draw insights from the rich literature on humanitarian operations efforts to combat human trafficking; second, to inspire humanitarian operations researchers to work more on human anti-trafficking.Design/methodology/approachThis is a conceptual paper inspired by recent relevant reports, the academic literature and the authors' years of involvement in both humanitarian operations and anti-trafficking.FindingsHumanitarian supply chains and human trafficking supply chains very often operate in the same environments and hence face similar challenges. The paper highlights the overlaps between the two domains and demonstrates how two decades of learnings from humanitarian supply chain literature can help improve the understanding of the more recent academic field of human trafficking supply chains significantly.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is conceptual and illuminates numerous opportunities for research in anti-trafficking.Practical implicationsBy inspiring more research on anti-trafficking, this paper hopes to facilitate enhancements to human trafficking operation to prevent more cases and protect victims.Social implicationsThere is an opportunity to increase the effectiveness of anti-trafficking activities, disrupt human trafficking and enlarge the "humanitarian space."Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first paper to discuss human trafficking operations in relation to humanitarian supply chains.