RESULT App Identifies Trafficking and Connects Victims to Resources

By Alex Grzybowski

With an estimated 27.6 million victims of forced labor worldwide, human trafficking is a huge and growing problem. It’s also difficult to trace. Human trafficking can happen anywhere to anyone. Victims can be U.S. Citizens or foreign nationals, young or old, any gender, and occur in both legal and illegal industries. 

The challenge of tracking and prosecuting this crime has been felt right here in Massachusetts, which just realized its first human trafficking conviction last December, eleven years after passing its first trafficking legislation.

RESULT (Recognize and Evaluate Signs to Uncover Labor Trafficking) is a web-based app, developed in collaboration between the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office and the Hariri Institute, co-led by BU Law Professor Julie Dahlstrom, that helps law enforcers identify victims of forced labor. Highlighted by Attorney General Andrea J. Campbell last January, RESULT aims to combat human trafficking in three main ways: It gives examples of trafficking so people can be more aware of potential instances of trafficking, it promotes interagency cooperation in order to more efficiently handle trafficking cases, and it seeks to build on recent successes to create more legislation providing increased victim’s rights.

“The RESULT app, which makes it easier for someone to report instances of forced service while connecting survivors to essential resources, is a critical tool in our collective fight against human trafficking. I am grateful for the ongoing partnership with Professor Julie Dahlstrom, BU Law school’s Immigrant Rights and Human Trafficking program, and the BU Spark! Initiative, and for the development of this tool which helps more identify these crimes and us to be responsive,” said Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell.

Challenges with Reporting Human Trafficking

Lawmakers have struggled with defining trafficking, creating problems for identifying instances of trafficking and separating labor trafficking from legal work. This makes reporting accurate data difficult as most people cannot recognize signs of trafficking and do not know what constitutes labor trafficking under the law. Part of this difficulty stems from the underground nature of human trafficking, leading many offenses to go unnoticed. It can be difficult to distinguish labor trafficking from regular work especially in the labor context and to recognize under which conditions someone is being forced to work. These challenges lead to a lack of trafficking reporting, as many bystanders are unsure if what they noticed could be considered trafficking and do not want to make a false report. 

RESULT addresses this issue by providing questions for investigators to answer to identify potential cases of trafficking. The app includes a section titled “Assess” that is designed for investigators to determine if, under Massachusetts law, the situation they’re observing is considered trafficking. Assess includes several categories for investigators to evaluate the situation: identity documents, abuse of the law, extortion, and more. Once app users complete the set of questions in a category, RESULT evaluates the answers and indicates whether the user witnessed trafficking or not. 

“The first goal of the app is that when confronting what they may view as labor exploitation or wage theft, people are able to answer a series of questions and know whether or not these constitute labor trafficking under the law,” Dahlstrom explains. “The second goal is to make sure that people receive access to services and know about their rights.”

Interagency Cooperation

In recent years, there has been increased cooperation between different levels of law enforcement to combat human trafficking. This is exemplified in the November 2023 brothel bust that took place in Cambridge and Watertown. The bust involved the coordination of various Massachusetts police departments working in collaboration with federal agencies and law enforcement in Virginia and California. This case shows increasing interagency support for shutting down trafficking rings, and highlights law enforcement’s better ability to identify instances of trafficking and arrest traffickers.

RESULT provides resources for law enforcement to better understand the steps to take when dealing with trafficking victims. Under the app’s “Prepare” section, there are tips and resources for investigators to access in preparation for interacting with victims. This includes information for building trust, safety planning, and making timely, appropriate referrals for victim’s services.

“RESULT was developed with government officials in mind, acknowledging that in their work, they may come into contact with trafficking,” Dahlstrom says. “We were excited to partner with the Attorney General’s office in developing and launching the app with the goal of their staff, attorneys and investigators using the app when they identify and track content that can be considered labor trafficking.”

Progress on Victim’s Rights

Recently, efforts to increase victims rights have significantly increased. Legislation is currently being worked on regarding victim compensation. This would allow individuals who are victims of trafficking to get access to financial resources in a timely manner. RESULT displays existing resources so investigators can connect victims with the support they need. For example, RESULT helps victims find shelters, legal services, and specialized services for non-citizens.

Non-citizen victims of trafficking face many barriers to reporting their situation, as due to immigration status, some may be fearful to contact local law enforcement. As per the State Department, 72% of trafficking victims in America are immigrants. Also, many survivors have either committed crimes under duress, or as a result from being trafficked have a criminal record that prevents them from finding employment. This has led to some pushing for more extensive victim’s rights, so non-citizens and those who committed a crime while being trafficked will have a way to escape their captors without fear of retribution from the law. RESULT highlights immigration resources for victims with varying visa statuses to access.

Future Applications

Currently, RESULT is focused on Massachusetts resources and organizations. However, the app has the potential to be implemented across the United States. The State Department estimates that there are between 14,500 and 17,500 victims of trafficking in America every year. Dahlstrom highlights the potential impact of RESULT, and that “especially in terms of others accessing RESULT’s open source code, the app can be implemented in other states and we’re excited that others might be able to build upon this model.” 

RESULT’s tools can educate Americans across the country about signs of trafficking and how to report these situations to law enforcement. Additionally, the app can foster interagency cooperation across the country to protect victims of trafficking and promote resources available across the country.