Internship Reflection: Researching Human Trafficking Policy and Public Awareness

This post was written by Mallika Sunder, a member of the Wellesley College Class of 2027 who worked with Associate Research Scientist Kate Price, Ph.D., through the Class of 1967 Internship Program.

Content warning: This post discusses child sex trafficking.

In September 2025, I began working with Associate Research Scientist Kate Price, Ph.D., on a project tracking how different state statutes across the U.S. treat child victims of sexual trafficking. Before joining this project, I had some exposure to human trafficking issues from a past internship with a human trafficking law firm, but after a couple months working under Dr. Price, I quickly realized I had so much more to learn.

I was shocked to discover that children who are sexually trafficked within states may be arrested under state prostitution laws. In 35 states in the U.S., a child can be criminalized for their own maltreatment. I also learned through past human trafficking research that this criminalization may happen when our society views sexually trafficked children as delinquents rather than as victims. Public perception of human trafficking victims plays a role in whether a child gets arrested or whether they get mental health and job support instead. Noncriminalization laws, which do not allow states to arrest children under 18 for prostitution, benefit these children the most.

With Dr. Price’s guidance, I embarked on a research project to test whether public awareness of human trafficking issues has an effect on the passage of anti-criminalization laws for children who have been sexually trafficked. Eventually, I found that there is an increase in Google searches related to human trafficking in a state about three years before noncriminalization legislation is passed in that state.

Through this project, I had to read various juvenile, prostitution, and human trafficking state laws to determine how a state treats sexually trafficked minors. I gained valuable skills in interpreting legal documents, and got to use my quantitative data analysis skills to test whether awareness of human trafficking issues may be associated with the passage of a state’s noncriminalization legislation. Eventually, I got to present this research at Wellesley’s annual Ruhlman conference, which was one of the highlights of this internship. I also co-authored with Dr. Price an article for The Conversation: How the law can add to child sex trafficking victims’ existing trauma.

Another highlight of working with Dr. Price was participating in a symposium in March about familial commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC), sponsored by the Wagner Centers for Wellesley in the World, where I got to meet researchers, nonprofit directors, and advocates doing amazing work to prevent human trafficking. Many of the people who attended had CSEC lived experience, which means that they had gained expertise about human trafficking issues through their personal experiences with familial and non-familial CSEC. Getting to learn from these experts about how the law can better prevent human trafficking was such a valuable experience. It was inspiring to meet so many influential anti-human trafficking advocates at once.

I have felt supported and encouraged by Dr. Price throughout this internship. I have become immersed in the world of human trafficking research and advocacy, and I am more than excited to come back to WCW next year and work more with Dr. Price on her research. This research experience has taught me to embrace new experiences and perspectives, to always look out for those ignored by our legal system, and to make use of the amazing mentorship opportunities that WCW provides.

Mallika Sunder is a member of the Wellesley College Class of 2027 who is majoring in political science and minoring in economics.