Improving the Interpretation and Presentation of Data on Trafficking
- Document number
- 3043
- Date
- 2014
- Title
- Improving the Interpretation and Presentation of Data on Trafficking
- Author/publisher
- Dita Vogel
- Availability
- View/save PDF version of this document
- Document type(s)
- Guidelines/Recommendations, Research/Study/Analysis,
- Keywords
- human rights, human trafficking, statistics, Eurostat, presentation of statistics
- Summary
- This ICMPD policy brief by Dr. Dita Vogel from Bremen University examines current practices in presenting data on THB and provides insight on how these practices influence policymakers. It also offers recommendations for an improved data presentation policy that employs a comparative approach.
In comparing the presentation of Eurostat trafficking data in Eurostat’s own report with the press release issued by the European Commission announcing the report’s launch, the policy brief identifies two distinct data presentation policies: a disclaimer policy, used in the Eurostat report, and an exaggeration policy, used in the press release. As the policy brief argues, both are problematic. The former invites inaccurate interpretations of data by refraining from offering any interpretations itself, while an exaggeration policy encourages calls for simplistic policies that do little to address the suffering of individuals in situations of extreme exploitation. The author concludes with a set of recommendations for a data presentation policy that makes the best possible statements on the basis of available data and qualitative knowledge, using comparative observations within data sets and more.