Opportunities and Obstacles: Consulting Civil Society Organizations and Human Trafficking Policy

Efforts to address human trafficking require a multi-faceted approach. The "3-P" index outlined in the U.N. protocol on human trafficking highlights the importance of prosecuting criminals, protecting survivors, and preventing the crime. In addition to states, civil society organizations (CSOs) play a crucial role in fighting this issue. Cooperation between the state and CSOs is increasingly recognized as a vital strategy for combatting human trafficking. Does the consulting of CSOs by policymakers affect outcomes in prosecution, protection, and prevention? Using data from an original data set of 183 countries, my findings suggest that cooperation significantly influences prosecution and prevention efforts, but not protection efforts. I theorize that this is because there are low technical and political costs to implement prosecution and prevention policies, but high technical and political costs to implement protection policies. Furthermore, I argue that CSO consultation is more likely to be associated with shallow, rather than deep, policy changes.