Research on the effectiveness and ethical mandate of prostitution diversion programs, human trafficking courts, and other specialized responses to the intersecting issues of prostitution and sex trafficking has produced mixed results.
To better understand these types of initiatives and determine whether and how evaluation could shed light on what works and why, the Center for Court Innovation and RTI International conducted evaluability assessments of five such programs.
These programs serve human trafficking victim-defendants at key decision-making points along the criminal justice system continuum. The report describes the program models and potential future evaluation designs, given the rapidly changing environment that may leave these programs with dwindling cases and little legal leverage.