Sex trafficking: New tool scans web ads to spot and rescue potential victims

Scientists have developed a new tool that helps law enforcement officers to identify and rescue potential sex trafficking victims.

Known as the Sexual Trafficking Identification Matrix (STIM), the new tool announced on 18 September helps the police to assess online ads for signs that those involved could be victims or sex trafficking or sexual exploitation.

The tool has already been deployed and is being used by the police to arrest multiple suspects and safeguard vulnerable people.

Leveraging tech

The war against sex trafficking is a long-standing one that has lasted decades. Before STIM, the police in Thames Valley have relied on manual effort, mainly counting on victims to come forward which they say is rare.

The new tool developed by Dr Xavier L’Hoiry from the University of Sheffield, in collaboration with global partners assesses adult service website adverts by analysing elements like the photographs, language and details used to produce a rating to decide whether the advert is low, medium or high risk. 

This helps law officers decide whether to dedicate additional resources for investigations or support for potential victims, which also ensures judicious use of resources.

Dr L’Hoiry, who works at the University of Sheffield’s School of Sociological Studies, Politics and International Relations said:

“In the digital age, the use of some adult service websites by criminals presents a growing challenge in the battle against human trafficking and there is growing evidence that traffickers are using them to reach a larger customer base and operate with less risk of being caught by law enforcement.”

However, the tool has one inherent challenge — It is not able to distinguish between profiles created by non-trafficked sex workers and those posted by traffickers because it’s difficult to tell a legitimate profile from a false one.

L’Hoiry says the goal is to see every police force in the UK, and worldwide, adopt the use of the STIM tool to help assist their work in identifying victims of human trafficking and developing strategies to help them.