Social Media and Trafficking Nexus : The Contribution of Social Media in Accelerating Women and Children Trafficking In Bangladesh

Abstract

Cases and reports of women and children trafficking through the use of social media are frequently reported and published in mainstream media in Bangladesh. Previously, attention was mainly given to trafficking victims only, therefore, the issue of trafficking through social media platforms is rarely investigated academically. The purpose of this master’s thesis is to assess how different social media platforms contribute to accelerating women and children trafficking in Bangladesh. The study is based on interviews with key informants from different organizations who are working in the trafficking sector in Bangladesh. The data has been collected through online interview with an open-ended questionnaire. After collecting the data, verbatim transcription has been done to transcribe the data from Bengali to English. After that, the data has been coded to identify relevant themes using NVivo qualitative software. The outcome of the study indicates that false advertisement on social media platforms such as Facebook and TikTok is one of the most prevalent tactics used by traffickers in Bangladesh to allure potential trafficking victims. An interesting finding was indicated by the result that TikTok as an emerging social media platform could be exploited in Bangladesh to target young girls for sexual exploitation. Study findings also indicate that young females and children are mostly targeted for sexual exploitation mainly via TikTok and older females are mostly targeted for labor exploitation mostly via Facebook. The study also found that Traffickers use messaging to communicate with potential victims according to their needs. As a result of these need-based messages, traffickers are able to erase suspicion about themselves and build trust with their victims. These need-based communication from traffickers' side make potential trafficking victims believe traffickers' social media messages so readily. Furthermore, the study finds that one of the most significant factors about why traffickers use social media platforms is the ease of communication, followed by easy access to the private information of potential victims. The study concludes that trafficking through social media in future may increase significantly. Therefore, additional research with more primary data is needed, preferably from in-depth interviews with survivors, to fathom the problem in greater detail to formulate policy to prevent this emerging problem.