Every journalist wants to go on a rescue mission. But hidden from view, the human trafficking story is one of the most challenging, complex and ethically testing assignments for journalists and editors.
People who are victims of trafficking are drawn from some of the most vulnerable humans on the planet: the 40 million people who live in forms of slavery; or the 150 million children subject to child labour; or migrant workers who also number around 150 million.
The media's emphasis tends to be on what you might call the sensational side of the story, which is human trafficking for sexual purposes, commercial sexual exploitation of women and children in particular. But that's not the biggest story, that's usually to do with migrant labour and slave labour.
-- Play
-- --
Human trafficking is an organised, criminal network of people and organisations controlling the lives of people - where they live or how they live - and involves people being trafficked from one country to another to do work under controlled conditions. Anyone engaged in human trafficking is committing an offence against the human rights of an individual. Migrant smuggling is different, that's about helping people avoid the rules about entering a country.
For most people, their only experience of human trafficking will be through the headlines, but because it is a hidden crime, investigative journalists require an immense amount of resources and support to get the background and coverage right.
Covering human trafficking and modern slavery: a journalist's eight-point guide
1 Keep digging and exchange information
In every country of the world, organisations will be able to help and direct you towards information which will be useful. Do not blunder into areas without first checking out the groups in civil society or non-government organisations (NGOs) who are protecting and defending survivors of trafficking and who can be relied upon for good information. The International Labour Organisation has a wonderful set of material related to human trafficking, child labour and slave labour.
2 Follow the rules, not the most sensational story
Often, NGOs will be suspicious of journalists. They'll be worried about journalists trying to get the most sensational story themselves and exploiting individuals who have suffered enough. It's very important to follow the rules. The first thing to remember is that anyone who has been a victim of trafficking or forced migration is almost certainly a person who has been traumatised. Journalists should be sensitive to them and mindful of a duty of care to their welfare.
3 Team talk and targeted editorial strategies are essential
Media organisations should have targeted internal discussions on how to cover stories around human trafficking so that everyone in the newsroom process is aware of the need for care and sensitivity in the way the story is dealt with.
4 Survivors' voices plays a huge part in pushing a story into the mainstream
Journalists should give a voice to the survivors. We have to make sure that we're not only relying on information from people who speak for them. We want to, if we can, hear the story out of their own mouths. This helps us get closer to the story but more importantly, it helps to explain in more emotional and critical detail the experience of those who have been affected by trafficking.
For most people, their only experience of human trafficking will be through the headlines.
Aidan White, founder, Ethical Journalism Network
5 Don't traumatise survivors further
Journalists must always ask questions which are sensitive to enable people to talk freely without feeling any sense of pressure. Do not ask for information that may put people at further risk or force them to relive the tragedy or the ordeal that they've been through in such a way that you actually create a fresh nightmare for them.
You might have to interview young people, children, who have been the victims of trafficking. It's important to show the highest degree of care and sensitivity. Some people might feel flattered to have a journalist talking to them, but they should be guided not to speak on matters which may create further harm.
Create a proper environment for the interviews to be carried out. It should be subdued. We shouldn't be forcing people to fit with our image of the drama that we want to recreate.
6 Avoid images that pander to sensationalism and intrusion
Inevitably, journalists are interested in images, video and film that will capture the drama that's involved, but without care there is a danger we carry on the process of objectifying. It goes without saying that we shouldn't be using images of violence. We should not identify people whose anonymity we should respect.
Many of us are complicit in creating and maintaining the economies that allow human trafficking to be viable in the modern world.
Aidan White, Ethical Journalism Network 7 We are all directly connected to modern slavery
Look around you. Often the victims of human trafficking are where you live. We often don't realise that many of us are complicit in creating and maintaining the economies that allow human trafficking to be viable in the modern world.
Low-grade, labour-intensive industries, such as the nail parlours on the high street or car washes, places where there are lots of people doing very cheap work are common features of the modern economy. As journalists, we need to ask questions. Where are the people who are the victims of human trafficking? Where are they likely to be working? Are they on building sites where cheap labour is very often easily found? Are they working in sweat shops producing textiles?
8 Avoid linking forced labour to a broader anti-immigration agenda
We have to look at human trafficking a
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
04/12/2025
SBS launches Future Frames initiative to support emerging First Nations video ed...
04/12/2025
Coronal mass ejections caused by eruptions on the surface of the sun can have fa...
04/12/2025
Gracenote Content Connect enables media ecosystem to precisely align ad campaigns and programming based on rich content signals
NEW YORK - December 4, 2025 - N...
Every journalist wants to go on a rescue mission. But hidden from view, the human trafficking story is one of the most challenging, complex and ethically testing assignments for journalists and editors.
