Search for: All records

Fishing is an important economic sector in many countries, and the industry's products constitute a source of protein for billions of people. Overfishing, incessant consumer demand, and poor regulation have left the industry susceptible to labor exploitation. A system dynamics model that describes the interactions of both ecological and economic systems while considering sustainability criteria both for the natural sphere (regeneration capacity of fish populations) and the economic sphere (profits and employment) was developed. The model evaluates interventions that reduce forced labor and labor trafficking, which are constituents of the economic sphere, while measuring legal and illegal labor. This study employs a novel interdisciplinary approach to the systemic planning and policymaking of initiatives that reduce forced labor while still valuing environmental and economic concerns, while accounting for the nonlinear feedback relationships and accumulation processes in the system. Using this model, the study presents empirical evidence and an explanation of how an emphasis on one policy over another impacts key metrics by providing results that are counterintuitive and highlight the need to consider the whole process - for example allocating a large portion of a budget towards awareness campaigns reduces fish stocks and over time forced labor increases. To be effective while minimizing unintended consequences, policies must be combined and implemented dynamically. Our case country in this study is Thailand—a prominent seafood exporter in the global spotlight for labor trafficking. We created a freely available online version of the model entitled “Fish-y Banks”. 

Human trafficking, the commercial exploitation of individuals, is a gross violation of human rights; harming societies, economies, health and development. The related disciplines of Operations Research (OR) and Analytics are uniquely positioned to support trafficking prevention and intervention efforts by efficiently evaluating a plethora of decision alternatives and providing quantitative, actionable insights. As operations and analytical efforts in the counter-trafficking field emerge, it is imperative to grasp subtle, yet distinctive, nuances associated with human trafficking. This paper is intended to inform those practitioners working in the Operations and Analytics fields by highlighting key features of human trafficking activity. We grouped ten themes around two broad categories: (1) representation of human trafficking and (2) consideration of survivors and communities. These insights are derived from our collective experience in working in this area and substantiated by domain expertise. Based on these areas, we then suggest avenues for future work. 

The New York City (NYC) youth shelter system provides housing, counseling, and other support services to runaway and homeless youth and young adults (RHY). These resources reduce RHY's vulnerability to human trafficking, yet most shelters are unable to meet demand. This paper presents a Discrete Event Simulation (DES) model of a crisis-emergency and drop-in center for LGBTQ+ youth in NYC, which aims to analyze the current operations and test potential capacity expansion interventions. The model uses data from publicly available resources and interviews with service providers and key stakeholders. The simulated shelter has 66 crisis-emergency beds, offers five different support services, and serves on average 1,399 LGBTQ+ RHY per year. The capacity expansion interventions examined in this paper are adding crisis-emergency beds and psychiatric therapists. This application of DES serves as a tool to communicate with policymakers, funders, and service providers-potentially having a strong humanitarian impact.