Caution, Traffick Ahead: Determining Message Design Features from Anti-Human Trafficking Non ...

108 Pages·2016·0.66 MB·English

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Theses and Dissertations
10-8-2015
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Elayne Goldman
Illinois State University, [email protected]
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Goldman, Elayne, "Caution, Traffick Ahead: Determining Message Design Features from Anti-Human
Trafficking Non-Profit Organizations" (2015). Theses and Dissertations. 477.
https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/etd/477
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CAUTION, TRAFFICK AHEAD: DETERMINING MESSAGE DESIGN FEATURES
FROM ANTI-HUMAN TRAFFICKING NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS

Elayne Goldman
98 Pages
This paper looks at the effectiveness of the messages distributed by anti-human
trafficking non-profit organizations, from the perspective of members of the non-profit
organizations themselves. Anti-human trafficking messages are disseminated to the
public by non-profit organizations on a daily basis, but appear to be ignored. This paper
tries to determine why. Research suggests non-profit organizations use either fear appeal,
sex appeal or a call-to-action when creating and distributing their messages, and the goal
of the study conducted was to determine the effectiveness of those messages from the
perspectives of those who create the messages. Participants were individuals from anti-
human trafficking non-profit organizations who have input or control in the creation and
dispersal of messages. These individuals were asked a series of questions to understand
the effectiveness of the messages they have created. The aspects following the
Elaboration Likelihood Model that are specifically being analyzed will include:
likelihood of future behavior, demographic information, the use of fear appeal and the
use of a call to action.
KEYWORDS: Anti-human trafficking, Elaboration likelihood, Effectiveness, Non-Profit
CAUTION, TRAFFICK AHEAD: DETERMINING MESSAGE DESIGN FEATURES
FROM ANTI-HUMAN TRAFFICKING NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS

ELAYNE GOLDMAN

A Thesis Submitted in Partial
Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of

MASTER OF ARTS
School of Communication
ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY
2015
© 2015 Elayne Goldman
CAUTION, TRAFFICK AHEAD: DETERMINING MESSAGE DESIGN FEATURES
FROM ANTI-HUMAN TRAFFICKING NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS

ELAYNE GOLDMAN

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Lance Lippert, Chair
Daniel C. Davis
John R. Baldwin
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank several people for their help and support in making my
graduate school experience such a wonderful one. First, I would like to thank Dr. Lippert
for agreeing to be my chair with this unconventional topic from day one, and working
with me through this entire process. Thank you.
I would also like to thank Dr. Davis and Dr. Baldwin for their constant support,
advice and encouragement. You helped me discover all the ways I can continue my work
and you have been patient and supportive through this entire process. A very special
thank you must be extended to all of the members of anti-trafficking organizations who
participated in this study. I’ll be joining you in the fight soon!
Finally, I would like to thank my friends and family for putting up with all of the
human trafficking horror stories, the crazy working hours and their understanding for
how important this is to me. You always gave me the extra push, the extra
encouragement, and the extra cup of coffee. Thank you for everything.
This thesis is dedicated to those who have voices unheard by the people who
promised to help them, to the victims who were able to escape and are still trying to get
back on their feet, and most importantly, this thesis is dedicated to the amazing woman I
call Stephanie, her bravery and the promise that her story will be heard.
E. G.

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CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS i

CONTENTS ii

CHAPTER
I. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM 1
II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE 3

Human Trafficking 3

History of Human Trafficking in the Press 4
Labor Trafficking 7
Commercial Sex Trafficking 9

Non-Profit Organizations 12

Non-Profit Expansion in the United States 12

Anti-Human Trafficking Non-Profits 14
Volunteering for a Non-Profit Organization 18
NPOs and Social Media 20
Post-Rescue Victim Care 22

Post-Rescue Health Care 23
Post-Rescue Legal Care 24

The Elaboration Likelihood Model 26

ELM and Fear Appeal 28
ELM and Sex Appeal 30
ELM and Call-to-Action 31
Criticisms of ELM 31

ii
Research Questions 32
Conclusion 33

III. METHODS 35

Participants and Procedure 35
Data Collection 37
Data Analysis 39
Conclusion 41

IV. FINDINGS 42

RQ 1: What do messages about Anti- Human Trafficking look like? 43

Elements of Content 44
Slogan Usage 44
Educational Messages 46
Channels: Social Media 47
Inactive Social Media 48
Active Social Media 48

RQ 2: How do members of this Anti-Human Trafficking Non-Profit
craft or design a message? 50

Team Effort 50
Target Audience 51
No Target Audience 52
Target Audience 52
It Depends 53
Persuasion Tactics 53
Public Perception 54

RQ 3: What is the objective of this Anti-Human Trafficking
Non-Profit? 56

Post-Rescue Victim Services 56
Education and Awareness 58

RQ 4: What is the intended outcome as an Anti-Human Trafficking
Non-Profit? 59

Governmental Support 60
Funding 60
The Enforcement of Existing Laws 61
Raising Awareness 63
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Professional Training Programs 64

Conclusion 65

V. DISCUSSION 67

Discussion of Research Questions 68
Design of Anti-Human Trafficking Messages 69
Crafting and Designing Anti-Trafficking Non-Profit Messages by
Members 71
The Objective of Anti-Trafficking Non-Profits 73
The Intended Outcome for Anti-Human Trafficking Non-Profits 76
Post Hoc Discussion 77
Limitations of the Study 78
Recommendations for Future Research 80
Summary 83

REFERENCES 86

APPENDIX A: Interview Questions 96

APPENDIX B: Participant Informed Consent 97
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