Convergence Across Human Trafficking Measures: Exploring the Dark Figure of Human Trafficking in a Statewide Victimization Survey

Reliable estimates of human trafficking remain elusive because most victimization is never identified by formal systems. To address this challenge, researchers have increasingly turned to behaviorally specific measures that assess experiences of exploitation directly. Using a statewide survey of adults in Florida, this study examined convergence across the Quick Youth Indicators for Trafficking (QYIT), the Rapid Appraisal for Trafficking (RAFT), and independent indicators of sex and labor trafficking. Findings revealed strong associations across human trafficking measures and limited reporting to law enforcement among respondents endorsing multiple human trafficking indicators. The results provide evidence of convergence across independently developed trafficking measures and contribute to ongoing efforts to evaluate behaviorally specific indicators in population-based studies of hidden victimization.