Partnerships for a Nonprofit Organization’s Human Trafficking Digital Activism, Training, Legislative Advocacy, and Survivor Support Efforts

Abstract

Although partnerships are a widely used approach to combat human trafficking, little research has been done on nonprofit partnerships for digital activism on human trafficking. This paper combines the public interest communication (PIC) theoretical framework with critical trafficking studies to understand one nonprofit’s digital activism strategies for human trafficking awareness. Employing grounded theory to analyze 54 pages of text, qualitative surveys, and interviews, data revealed organizational partnerships focused on the key areas of training, legislative advocacy, and survivor support. However, partners can potentially derail strategic efforts for social change if misaligned with PIC dimensions and human rights approaches to human trafficking. Based on these findings, recommendations for nonprofit partnerships for digital activism on human trafficking are presented.