Ruth J. Simmons Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice

View the Human Trafficking Research Cluster brochure

Human Trafficking Research Cluster

Directed by Manning Assistant Professor of American Studies and Ethnic Studies, Dr. Elena Shih, the Human Trafficking Research Cluster (HTRC) was established at the Ruth J. Simmons Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice in 2015. HTRC aims to foster collaborative critical inquiry into the study of human trafficking, as well as to cultivate an intersectional framework that acknowledges the ways in which race, class, gender, nation, and sexual forms of power and inequality govern contemporary anti-trafficking efforts. Since its inception the HTRC has supported undergraduate and graduate research while simultaneously maintaining community partnerships with Providence-based and global migrant and sex worker rights organizations. These relationships have produced research and policy documents, and have elevated public discussions on the ethics of human trafficking studies, the role of local and international governmental policy, and have explored innovative solutions to reporting and stopping labor abuse. Dr. Shih is the recipient of the 2020 Howard R. Swearer Engaged Faculty Award for Research.

Since 2015, the HTRC has prioritized engaged scholarship with COYOTE (Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics) RI, the state’s only sex worker rights organization. Together, they co-led a community based research team that has investigated sex workers rights amidst a changing climate of sexual labor politics. In 2019, COYOTE RI and HTRC were successful in introducing a historic Rhode Island House Bill to study the impact of the 2009 decriminalization of indoor prostitution in the state.

Recent News

News from the Simmons Center

2024 Annual Report Update: Human Trafficking Research Cluster

In 2024, the Human Trafficking Research Cluster marked major milestones: launching a new book on sex worker health in Rhode Island, continuing collaborative research with Red Canary Song, and preparing to debut “Liberation Atlas,” a digital map of policing violence against Asian massage workers in NYC.
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News from the Simmons Center

2023 Annual Report Update: Human Trafficking Research Cluster

In 2023, the HTRC celebrated the launch of "White Supremacy, Racism, and the Coloniality of Anti-Trafficking", an anthology exploring how anti-trafficking efforts are rooted in systemic racism and colonial power structures. The cluster also premiered "Fly in Power", a documentary on Asian migrant massage workers, highlighting labor exploitation and racial justice.
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Current and Past Faculty, Staff, Researchers, and Fellows

2015–present Research Cluster Faculty Fellow

  • Elena Shih

    Human Trafficking Research Cluster Faculty Fellow; Manning Assistant Professor of American Studies; Director of Graduate Studies, MA in Public Humanities (2025–2028); Associate Director of Academics, Ruth J. Simmons Center for the Study of Slavery & Justice

Mapping Asian Massage Policing Research Assistants

2024–25

2023–24

2022–23

  • Arman Deendar (2023–25)
  • Shravya Sompalli (2022–25)
  • Sarath Suong (2023–24)
  • Arman Deendar (2023–25)
  • Shravya Sompalli (2022–25)
  • Sarath Suong (2023–24)
  • Amy Xiao (2022–24)
  • Filbert Aung (2022–23)
  • Shravya Sompalli (2022–25)
  • Rachel Tam (2022–23)
  • Amy Xiao (2022–24)

 

 

Karen T. Romer Undergraduate Teaching and Research Awards (UTRAs)

2018

Arie Davey

2017

Dayana Tavarez

2016

Tau Lee
Envisioning Intersectional Sex Trafficking Prevention Frameworks for LGBTQ Youth   

2015

Eve Woldemikael
From Slavery to Human Trafficking: The Politics of Forced Labor in Brazil