The Trafficking in Persons Risk to Resilience Research Lab aims to improve data collection regarding human trafficking in the Tampa Bay area.
Courtesy of USF
By Aubrey Carr
On Sept. 15, USF St. Petersburg, along with local community leaders, celebrated the grand opening of The Trafficking in Persons (TiP) Risk to Resilience Research Lab.
The lab, which focuses on the impacts of sexual exploitation on Floridian children, is one of the first research centers of its kind.
The purpose of the TiP Lab is to provide precise data and resources about sexual trafficking to local leaders, including law enforcement, nonprofit organizations and legislators.
“As we began looking at this, we realized Florida does not have a unified data center for human trafficking,” said Joan Reid, director of The TiP Lab. “As we were interviewing stakeholders, it became apparent that many of them were lacking data; the data they needed to do their work.”
The research lab was made possible with a $92,000 grant, the USF Strategic Investment Pool Award. The award was designed to fund research projects created by tenured USF staff members.
In 2019, the grant was given to Reid and fellow university researchers in hopes of lowering rates of sexual trafficking in the Tampa Bay area.
Reid said high levels of trafficking in the area presented a need for the research lab.
“We realized there was a much larger group of youth who were vulnerable to this than previously understood, I came up with the conclusion that any kid is vulnerable. Given the right situation, meeting the right trafficker, any person, any child can be manipulated into this,” Reid said.
Florida ranks third in the nation for sex trafficking. Reid called Tampa Bay a hotspot due to its high influx of tourists.
According to the Florida Department of Children and Families’ Annual Human Trafficking Report, 1,901 trafficking reports were made in Florida during the 2019-2020 fiscal year.
The large report rates propelled Florida lawmakers to create a variety of anti-human trafficking legislation, which Reid applauded during the opening ceremony.
“One encouraging thing is that when research shows there is a problem, the legislative bodies have been extremely responsive, passing laws that protect survivors of human trafficking or increasing penalties for types of trafficking of certain vulnerable populations,” Reid said. “Florida has led the way for other states to model their legislation.”
The TiP Lab opening celebration honored those in the community who have paved the way toward prevention of local human trafficking cases.
The Human Trafficking Disruptors of 2021 award was given to Attorney General Ashley Moody, State Sen. Manny Diaz Jr., R-Hialeah, State Rep. Jackie Toledo, R-Tampa and Brent Woody, executive director of the Justice Restoration Center, a nonprofit organization that dedicates itself to the legal needs of trafficking survivors.
“The legislation that we filed this year was the tip of the iceberg on what we can do for victims and stop treating them like criminals. I will continue to fight and help in the future to eradicate human trafficking,” Toledo said during his acceptance.
Reid, along with her fellow USF researchers, are confident in the TiP Lab’s ability to increase research, education and prevention of sexual trafficking and exploitation within the community.
“My goal is to become a good source of data for those who are researching human trafficking,” Reid said.
