The following is the abstract of “TIP Reports as Policy and Narrative: Exploring the Communicative Framework for Policy Enactment,” a study published in the Journal of Human Trafficking in 2018.

“To date, a main source of information about human trafficking is the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, which has been generated by the U.S. Department of State since 2001. The TIP Report annually chronicles nation-states’ action(s) toward ending human trafficking. This study examines the role of the TIP Report as a communicative and mediated representational document of policy texts. Our findings assert that the document in itself is a mediated production. That is, each iteration of the TIP Report is constructed to craft specific narratives around human trafficking and who is responsible (from people to locations). Thus, this document uses policy texts to narratively construct and promote particular understandings. Accordingly, we used a communicative framework to examine the interplay and consequences between policy and narrative throughout the document. In the end, we offer both theoretical and practical contributions for research on policy communication and reporting on human trafficking.”