Social schemas about human trafficking involving girls and women: A systematic review

Social schemas act as relatively enduring guidelines that impact individuals' interpretation and the planning of action toward a social phenomenon. Understanding the state of evidence on social schemas about human trafficking involving girls and women is critical to the development of anti-trafficking responses. This systematic review aimed to a) examine the characteristics of studies (e.g., aim, design, methodology) addressing social schemas about human trafficking involving girls and women victims, and b) map the social schemas regarding different types of human trafficking. An electronic search for peer-reviewed articles was conducted in 12 databases, resulting in 46 manuscripts meeting the inclusion criteria. Most of the studies rely on a qualitative design, were focused on human trafficking for sexual exploitation, and assessed social perceptions and knowledge. Overall, differences were found in social schemas between different social groups, namely victims, professionals, community members, and media, namely on beliefs, attributions, awareness, and knowledge. Media social schemas were mostly focused on human trafficking for sexual exploitation. Studies exploring community members' schemas suggested relevant associations of peoples' awareness, beliefs, and perceptions of self-efficacy with their knowledge about human trafficking, attributions of responsibility, and attitudes toward victims, as well as their willingness to engage in anti-trafficking actions. Victims and youth at-risk of human trafficking showed awareness about the risk factors and recruitment strategies but showed a lack of knowledge regarding local resources to help them in case of need. Finally, professionals presented the most incongruent schemas, suggesting that their knowledge depends on the type of organization they belong to and their personal attitudes and perceptions about human trafficking involving girls and women. The literature suggests the influence of these schemas on people's willingness to engage in anti-trafficking actions. Implications for practice and research are discussed.