The U.S. State Department consider Tenancingo in the state of Tlaxcala, Mexico as the epicenter of human trafficking into the commercial sex industry. Scholars have identified various socioeconomic factors that contribute to the region being a geographical nucleus for human trafficking into commercial sex industry. For instance, Ditmore et al. (2012) in their study report that poverty in terms of educational attainment and fiscal hardship increased the vulnerability of the residents of Tenancingo to trafficking into commercial sex industry. Most of the respondents described extreme poverty situations that made them susceptible to the manipulation by traffickers who convinced them that engaging in the vice would improve their economic condition. Second, United Nations Office on Drugs, & Crime (2010) reports that corruption is another factor that perpetuates human trafficking, especially in places like Tenancingo where trafficking has been accepted as a culture among the residents. It is thus important to understand how poverty and corruption are measured if effective intervention measures are to be put in place to eradicate human trafficking in Tenancingo region of Mexico.
Indicators of Poverty
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) (2017) has developed various factors that are used to determine whether or not a person is poor. These parameters would be helpful in determining whether Tenancingo residents are poor as well as whether that poverty exacerbates the human trafficking problem. Poverty in the region can be measured by comparing a person’s family income to a minimum amount that has been determined to be necessary to cover basic needs of a typical Tenancingo resident (UNECE, 2017). Should the income of the person fall below the set amount or what is typically termed as poverty line, she is considered poor and at risk of being influenced by traffickers. The monetary measurement of poverty is further complimented by nonmonetary indicators such as access to quality healthcare, education and material living standards (UNECE, 2017). Therefore, even if one’s monetary income is above the poverty line, she is considered poor if her income cannot allow her to access nonmonetary indicators such as quality education and access to key services such as water, sanitation and electricity. As noted by Ditmal et al. (2012), such people are easily lured by traffickers with the promise that they would earn enough income to help them change their poverty status.
Indicators of Corruption
According to Trapnell (2015), corruption is measured using direct and indirect methods. The direct methods are designed to collect evidence-based data on corruption through the use of statistical and standardized procedures (Trapnell, 2015). Direct measurements indicate actual incidences of corruption as experienced by the residents as opposed to their opinion regarding the prevalence of the vice. Consequently, to measure corruption, the approach uses official data such as reported cases of corruption, indictment and conviction figures. The approach also collects data on the actual occurrence of corruption through experience-based sample surveys of a given population to understand the rate of corruption incidences (Trapnell, 2015). The indirect methods of measuring corruption, on the other hand, gauges the perceived level of corruption by the citizens (Trapnell, 2015). The approach is often preferred because it is often difficult to measure actual incidences of corruption because of its complex nature. For instance, incidences of bribery goes unreported because both the giver and the receiver are both perpetrators hence would rarely reveal their corrupt deals (United Nations Office on Drugs, & Crime, (2010). Hence, researchers employ the use of experts to assess patterns of corruption or surveys to gauge citizens’ perceived level of corruption in identified areas of interest.