Gauging Public Opinion on Human Trafficking in Moldova and Albania Employing Survey Experimentation to Inform Effective Prevention and Awareness Programs Research and Innovation Grants Working Papers Series May 27, 2016 Gauging Public Opinion on Human Trafficking in Moldova and Albania Employing Survey Experimentation to Inform Effective Prevention and Awareness Programs Research and Innovation Grants Working Papers Series Ekaterina Botchkovar Northeastern University Vanessa Bouché Texas Christian University Amy Farrell Northeastern University Dana Wittmer Colorado College May 27, 2016 Disclaimer: This report is made possible with support from the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the sole responsibility of Texas Christian University and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID; the United States government; or the Democracy Fellows and Grants Program implementer, IIE. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACRONYM LIST ...................................................................................................................... 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................. 1 A. Albania .......................................................................................................................................... 2 B. Moldova ........................................................................................................................................ 2 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 3 A. Theoretical Background ................................................................................................................ 3 B. Methodology ................................................................................................................................ 4 C. Summary of Findings .................................................................................................................... 5 D. Policy Implications and Recommendations .................................................................................. 7 BACKGROUND ....................................................................................................................... 8 A. Theoretical Framework ................................................................................................................. 8 B. Country Context .......................................................................................................................... 10 C. Methodology .............................................................................................................................. 14 FINDINGS ........................................................................................................................... 18 A. Section 1: Attitudes about Human Trafficking............................................................................ 18 B. Section 2: Predicting Cognitive and Affective Attitudes Toward Human Trafficking ................. 30 C. Section 3: Experimental Frames to Increase Affective Response to Human Trafficking ............ 42 CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................... 52 A. Methodological Lessons Learned ................................................................................................ 53 B. Summary of Results and Policy Recommendations .................................................................... 53 REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................... 58 APPENDIX A: DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS ....................................................................................... 61 APPENDIX B: MEANS OF CONDITIONS FOR EXPERIMENT 2 .............................................................. 62 APPENDIX C: ADDITIONAL COMPARISONS TO IOM 2008 REPORT .................................................... 63 APPENDIX D: ALBANIA PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY ......................................................................... 65 APPENDIX E: MOLDOVA PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY ........................................................................ 83 MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR The Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance is pleased to share “Gauging Public Opinion on Human Trafficking in Moldova and Albania: Employing Survey Experimentation to Inform Effective Prevention and Awareness Programs.” This publication was produced by USAID in partnership with the Institute of International Education and Texas Christian University as part of the Research and Innovation Grants Working Papers Series. The Strategy on Democracy, Human Rights and Governance1 reaffirmed USAID’s commitment to “generate, analyze, and disseminate rigorous, systematic, and publicly accessible evidence in all aspects of DRG policy, strategy and program development, implementation, and evaluation.” This paper, along with the others contained in the series, makes a valuable contribution to advancing this commitment to learning and evidence-based programming. This series is part of USAID’s Learning Agenda for the DRG Sector, a dynamic collection of research questions that serve to guide the DRG Center’s and USAID field missions’ analytical efforts. USAID seeks to inform strategic planning and project design efforts with the very best theory, evidence, and practical guidance. And through these efforts, the Learning Agenda is contributing to USAID’s objective to support the establishment and consolidation of inclusive and accountable democracies to advance freedom, dignity, and development. The research presented in this paper provides useful insights into how Albanians and Moldovans perceive human trafficking. In both countries, more politically engaged citizens demonstrated greater knowledge about human trafficking but were less likely to consider it a top priority for the government to address. In addition, in both Albania and Moldova, citizens demonstrated more knowledge of sex trafficking than labor trafficking, and were significantly less likely to think that men or boys could be vulnerable to any form of trafficking—indicating that messaging should help broaden the public definition of trafficking and awareness of who is vulnerable. Finally, through an experiment possible in Albania, where a USAID-funded counter-trafficking program had produced short video postcards about trafficking, the research suggests that messaging which both presents information about trafficking and provides citizens with concrete next steps to protect themselves and their families may be a simple, effective way to promote behaviors that could limit trafficking vulnerability. I hope you find this research enlightening and helpful. As the DRG Center’s Learning Agenda progresses, we will continue our effort to bring forward the latest in relevant social science research to important constituencies for our work, particularly our DRG cadre and implementing partners, but also others. I invite you to stay involved as this enriching, timely, and important work proceeds. Neil Levine, Director Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance U.S. Agency for International Development https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1866/USAID%20DRG_%20final%20final%206- 12 4 % 2 0 3 % 2 0 ( 1 ) .p d f ACRONYM LIST ADC Austrian Development Cooperation CAAHT The Albanian Initiative: Coordinated Action Against Human Trafficking CSO Civil Society Organization C-TIP Counter-Trafficking in Persons DAI Development Alternatives, Inc. DFG Democracy Fellows and Grants Program DOS US Department of State DRG Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance GfK GfK Ukraine IDRA IDRA Research IIE Institute of International Education ILO International Labour Organization IOM International Organization for Migration MDT Multi-Disciplinary Team NGO Non-Governmental Organization OLS Ordinary Least Squares OSCE Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe PSA Public Service Announcement PPS Probability, Proportional to Size SIDA Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency SDC Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation TCU Texas Christian University TIP Trafficking in Persons TVPA Trafficking Victims Protection Act UN United Nations UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund USAID United States Agency for International Development USC University of Southern California EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Since 2001, USAID has implemented programs designed to counter trafficking in persons (C-TIP) in more than 68 countries. The Palermo Protocol defines human trafficking as: “The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude, or the removal of organs.” The Protocol also clarifies that the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of an individual under the age of 18 for the purpose of exploitation is considered trafficking in persons, even if none of the means listed above (force, coercion, abduction, etc.) is involved. A modern form of slavery, human trafficking constitutes a gross violation of human rights. Despite the complexity of the crime and efforts by many national and international organizations to eliminate it, there is limited research on the nature and extent of human trafficking, its underlying dynamics, and the effectiveness of C-TIP programs. Through the C-TIP Campus Challenge Research Grants funded by USAID’s Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance under the Democracy Fellows and Grants Program, three research teams implemented public opinion surveys in USAID priority countries for C-TIP programming. The researchers sought to generate data to inform the design of programs to raise awareness about trafficking among vulnerable populations and to influence knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to trafficking. This paper focuses on research conducted in Albania and Moldova by a team led by Texas Christian University (TCU). C-TIP Campus Challenge Research Grants also were awarded to teams led by the University of Southern California (USC) to conduct research in Indonesia, and by Vanderbilt University to conduct research in Nepal. The TCU research team developed and fielded a nationally representative survey experiment in Albania and Moldova to assess what average citizens in both countries currently know about human trafficking and how counter-trafficking messaging could most effectively be framed. The research conducted in both countries focused on two primary objectives: 1) to establish a baseline of public opinion about human trafficking in each country, and 2) to analyze these data to provide information that can support the development of more strategic C-TIP prevention and protection programs by understanding what could drive people in each country to take personal action against trafficking and to support governmental action. In addition, the survey also explored how issue framing and messaging affects public concern for and involvement in C-TIP efforts. This research provides useful insights into how practitioners should consider data and resulting survey information when determining the focus and messaging in the design of C-TIP awareness-raising materials. TCU selected Albania and Moldova because both countries experienced a surge in trafficking after opening their borders and liberalizing their economies. Because of this surge, USAID prioritized Albania and Moldova for C-TIP programming, and from 2001 to 2011 these countries were among the ten in which the Agency invested half of its C-TIP funding. To continue to make strategic investments to Texas Christian University 1 USAID/DCHA/DRG Working Papers Series prevent trafficking and protect victims, however, USAID and other donors need increased data on existing knowledge and attitudes about trafficking, and strategies for effectively crafting and delivering C-TIP messaging. This paper presents a number of findings in each country; a selection of these, with corresponding program and policy recommendations, is highlighted below. A. Albania The majority (64%) of respondents in Albania reported being very or somewhat informed about human trafficking. However, many Albanians appear to have only cursory understanding, and narrow trafficking down to a single type of victims or one type of victimization: Albanians believe teenage girls, ethnic minorities, and rural residents are at highest risk of both sex and labor trafficking. To increase awareness of risks, anti-trafficking campaigns may benefit from highlighting situations of trafficking experienced by men and boys. The low risk perceived among men may be a function of gender perceptions in Albania; future research should explore this hypothesis. A large majority of Albanians (92%) reported that their government should make C-TIP a top priority. When government officials publicize their C-TIP actions, it should be understood as not only a response to international help and pressure, but also to public desire. Although the Albanian public expresses concern about human trafficking, there is much more support for a government response than interest in personally taking action. Educating the public about how to become involved in C-TIP work may have positive implications for addressing trafficking and democratic citizenship because it builds social bonds, capital, and cohesion. B. Moldova A minority (44%) of Moldovans reported being very or somewhat informed about human trafficking. Similar to Albanians, Moldovans view individuals from vulnerable families, teenage girls, and rural residents to be most at risk of both sex and labor trafficking. They perceive men, boys, and ethnic minorities as least vulnerable. Moldovan awareness programming needs to focus on the vulnerabilities of ethnic minorities, specifically forced begging among Roma children and forced prostitution among Roma women. Moreover, as in Albania, there should be particular attention to educate Moldovans on the male vulnerability to human trafficking. A majority (60%) of Moldovans report that human trafficking should be a top government priority. These attitudes may be the result of high levels of distrust of the government among the public, and the perceptions of corruption among public officials. Future research should explore the relationship between public distrust, government corruption, and public desire for government to prioritize human trafficking. Texas Christian University 2 USAID/DCHA/DRG Working Papers Series INTRODUCTION Trafficking in persons is a significant global threat. It generates roughly $32 billion per year in illicit profits (ILO 2005) and victimizes roughly 21 million people around the world (ILO 2012). Transnational human trafficking has flourished in the 21st century for a variety of reasons, including the economic, social, and political implications of globalization (Dinan 2008). The transnational nature of human trafficking necessitates a global response. Unfortunately, many countries do not have the capacity or political will to address trafficking effectively within or across their borders. USAID has provided funding to increase the capacity of countries to develop comprehensive anti-trafficking responses. Critical to supporting that mission is increasing knowledge about what shapes public understanding of human trafficking and support for anti-trafficking programs. The present research seeks to understand public opinion on human trafficking in two countries in which USAID has made significant investment in anti-trafficking programming over the past decade: Albania and Moldova. This research has two primary objectives: 1) to set the baseline on where public opinion on human trafficking currently stands in these two countries,2 and 2) to use this information to develop more strategic prevention and protection programs that target specific populations with the most effective messaging and services. In doing so, this research endeavors to answer the following key questions:  Overall, how knowledgeable of and concerned about human trafficking is the public, and how do demographic characteristics predict levels of knowledge and concern?  How does the public believe their respective governments should respond to this issue, and how do demographic characteristics predict these beliefs?  How do varying levels of knowledge and concern predict first-person (personal) behavior regarding civic engagement with the issue of human trafficking?  How do varying levels of knowledge and concern predict support for third-party (government) action relevant to human trafficking?  What types of issue frames and public awareness messaging resonate most with the public? A. Theoretical Background This research seeks to understand public knowledge of and concern about human trafficking in Albania and Moldova to better determine what drives people to first-person action and to support third-party action relevant to human trafficking. We operationalize the cognitive dimension of attitude toward human trafficking as the amount of knowledge an individual possesses of the issue. We operationalize the affective dimension of attitude toward human trafficking as the amount of concern about the issue that an individual feels. Based on previous social psychology research, we expect that increased knowledge of and concern about human trafficking should yield a strong attitude about human trafficking, and that attitude should motivate and support related personal civic behavior and support of related third-party (government) action. We anticipate that this process may take different forms in 2 Although there have been other studies on public opinion regarding human trafficking in Moldova (e.g., IOM 2 0 0 6 ; I O M 2 0 0 8 ; M a h m o u d a n d T r e besch 2009; Robinson 2011), these studies have a much smaller sample size, are not a representative sample, or are more limited in scope. Texas Christian University 3 USAID/DCHA/DRG Working Papers Series newly formed post-communist democracies, such as those in Albania and Moldova, in which both civic engagement and general political efficacy are weak. In addition to examining how public knowledge and concern predict public engagement in or support of anti-trafficking activities, we explore how issue framing and messaging affect public concern for human trafficking and public involvement in anti-trafficking efforts. The way that an issue is framed by the media, politicians, or advocates has a significant effect on public interest in, understanding of, and support for that issue. Because human trafficking can be framed in many different ways, we hypothesize that different issue frames will affect attitude formation, and so behavior. B. Methodology We developed and fielded a nationally representative survey experiment in Albania and Moldova to assess what average citizens in both countries currently know about human trafficking and how messaging that seeks to reduce both the supply of and demand for human trafficking could most effectively be framed. Before developing the survey, members of the research team familiarized themselves with each country through literature reviews, field site visits, and local stakeholder interviews, so that the final instrument was culturally relevant and culturally relative, replicated questions that had been asked in similar surveys in other countries, and provided robust data. The survey asks questions in eight major areas: 1. Respondents’ belief about the prevalence of sex and labor trafficking within and outside their country; 2. Respondents’ perceptions about the vulnerability of different demographic groups (e.g., adult women, teenage girls, etc.) to sex and labor trafficking; 3. Respondents’ source of information about human trafficking; 4. Respondents’ level of concern for human trafficking; 5. Respondents’ assessment of whether and how much the government should prioritize C-TIP efforts and preference for various government policies; 6. Respondents’ assessment of how active in C-TIP efforts various governmental and non- governmental institutions should be; 7. Respondents’ assessment of appropriate penalties for sex and labor trafficking offenders; and 8. Respondents’ beliefs about the major causes of human trafficking. The survey also included two experiments. The first experiment manipulates the age of the female victims (women versus girls) and the level of fraud used to recruit the victims (restaurant versus strip club). The second experiment manipulates the means by which victims were trafficked, whether by force, fraud, or coercion. We hypothesize that framing the issue of human trafficking in certain ways—as one that affects minor versus adult females, or where different types of force, fraud, or coercion are used—will affect the way the public views the problem. In Albania specifically, we fielded a third experiment to test the effects of six different public service announcements (PSAs) that were created on a USAID-funded project, The Albanian Initiative: Coordinated Action Against Human Trafficking (CAAHT). The team contracted with the research firm IDRA in Albania and GfK in Moldova. In each country, we sampled 1,000 nationally representative citizens. Tablets were used to collect survey data in Albania, and paper-and-pencil surveys were collected in Moldova. Data were transmitted to the research team and analyzed using Stata 12. Texas Christian University 4 USAID/DCHA/DRG Working Papers Series