Abstract
The role of technology as it applies to human trafficking poses a complex philosophical dilemma. This is due to the fact that advancements and increasing universality of technology in the modern world can help to both facilitate and prevent human trafficking. This chapter will explore ways in which technology acts as a double-edged sword with regard to human trafficking. It will also look at how it ties healthcare into the matter of human trafficking – an often overlooked component of the tragic residua of human trafficking. Specific components of how technology can be used to combat human trafficking include both prevention and intervention, as well as dealing with the survivors’ tragic aftermath. Even though technology does facilitate human trafficking and modern slavery, it is the responsibility of both governmental institutions and purveyors of the technologies to see how it is being used nefariously and combat its deleterious use as well.
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Acknowledgments
This work could not have been completed without the unending commitment of research assistants Matthew Pinna and Joanna Lepuri of the University of Chicago. Additional gratitude is extended to Ambassador Susan Coppedge, Justin Dillon, Nathaniel Erb, Patrick Gage, Nick Grono, Rachel Cohen Gerrol, Laura Hackney, Duncan Jepson, Siddharth Kara, Ambassador Mark Lagon, Margo LaZaro, Diana Mao, Padmini Murthy, Bradley Myles, Yvonne O’Neal, Rebecca Sadwick, John Temple, Ehb Teng, Jonah Wittkamper, and the many members, supporters, and partners of the NEXUS Working Group on Human Trafficking & Modern Slavery and the NEXUS Youth Summit around the world.
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Kronfeld, M.J. (2020). Chapter 14: Trafficking, Technology, and Public Health: The Malignant Malady of Modern Slavery. In: Murthy, P., Ansehl, A. (eds) Technology and Global Public Health. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46355-7_19
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