Social Issues in the United States:
Human Trafficking Survey Results
1,253 adults interviewed online May 14-26, 2015
Field work conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs
Some questions from this survey have been held for later release.
3F. How much have you read or heard about each of these social issues in the United States today? Human trafficking
| Extensively / a lot | 13 |
| Quite a bit | 15 |
| A fair amount | 22 |
| Some | 24 |
| Not very much | 17 |
| Not at all | 8 |
4F. How much do you feel you know about each of these social issues in the United States today? Human trafficking
| Extensively / a lot | 9 |
| Quite a bit | 14 |
| A fair amount | 23 |
| Some | 23 |
| Not very much | 23 |
| Not at all | 8 |
5F. Using the scale below, please indicate how important you think each of these social issues is in the United States today. Human trafficking
| Extremely important | 35 |
| Very important | 28 |
| Somewhat important | 23 |
| Slightly important | 10 |
| Not very important | 3 |
| Not at all important | 2 |
7F. How widespread and common do you think each of these social issues is in the United States today? Human trafficking
| Extremely | 16 |
| Very | 20 |
| Somewhat | 33 |
| Slightly | 19 |
| Not very | 9 |
| Not at all | 2 |
8F. Do you know anyone who has personally experienced …? Human trafficking
| Yes | 7 |
| No | 93 |
9F. How serious a problem do you think each of these social issues is for those experiencing it in the United States today? Human trafficking
| Extremely serious | 37 |
| Very serious | 24 |
| Somewhat serious | 20 |
| Slightly serious | 13 |
| Not very serious | 4 |
| Not at all serious | 2 |
10F. To what extent do you think each of these social issues is already being adequately addressed in the United States today? Human trafficking
| Addressed completely | 6 |
| Addressed to a very great extent | 8 |
| Addressed somewhat | 27 |
| Addressed slightly | 27 |
| Not addressed very well | 24 |
| Not at all addressed | 8 |
11F. For each of the following social issues in the United States today, please indicate if you have or have not spent time being personally involved in trying to help. Human trafficking
| Yes, have | 9 |
| No, have not | 91 |
12F. How interested are you in getting personally involved in working towards a solution to each of these social issues in the United States? Human trafficking
| Extremely interested | 11 |
| Very interested | 14 |
| Somewhat interested | 20 |
| Slightly interested | 23 |
| Not very interested | 17 |
| Not at all interested | 14 |
18. Do you consider people who are forced to work in prostitution against their will to be victims of human trafficking?
| Yes | 92 |
| No | 8 |
19. Do you consider people who are forced to work as domestic servants against their will to be victims of human trafficking?
| Yes | 90 |
| No | 10 |
20. Do you consider people who are forced to work as migratory construction and farm laborers against their will to be victims of human trafficking?
| Yes | 79 |
| No | 21 |
21. Do you consider people who voluntarily work in prostitution to be part victims of human trafficking?
| Yes | 30 |
| No | 70 |
22. Do you consider people who voluntarily work as domestic servants to be part victims of human trafficking?
| Yes | 20 |
| No | 80 |
23. Do you consider people who voluntarily work as migratory construction or farm laborers to be part victims of human trafficking?
| Yes | 17 |
| No | 83 |
23A. Do you consider people who are voluntarily smuggled into the United States to be part victims of human trafficking?
| Yes | 46 |
| No | 54 |
23B. Are victims of human trafficking mostly people from inside the United States or mostly from outside of the United States? (answers were rotated)
| Mostly people from inside the US | 24 |
| Mostly people from outside of the US | 76 |
23C. How widespread and common of a problem do you think human trafficking is for people who live in each of the following places in the United States? (questions were rotated)
A. Rural areas
| Extremely | 9 |
| Very | 19 |
| Somewhat | 32 |
| Slightly | 19 |
| Not very | 15 |
| Not at all | 6 |
B. Suburban areas
| Extremely | 12 |
| Very | 24 |
| Somewhat | 32 |
| Slightly | 18 |
| Not very | 10 |
| Not at all | 4 |
C. Urban areas
| Extremely | 22 |
| Very | 33 |
| Somewhat | 31 |
| Slightly | 7 |
| Not very | 3 |
| Not at all | 2 |
27. Earlier you indicated that you felt that voluntary prostitution (was/was not) part of human trafficking. Why do you feel that way?
| Human Trafficking | Not Human Trafficking | |
| Not forced | 3 | 32 |
| A choice | 10 | 62 |
| Forced | 9 | – |
| Illegal/criminal | 1 | – |
| Can’t get away from it | 5 | – |
| Money driven | 8 | 7 |
| They’re in need | 19 | 4 |
| Moral reasons | 8 | 2 |
| Some take advantage | 16 | 1 |
| Still trafficking | 9 | – |
| Nothing | 3 | 2 |
| Other | 11 | 7 |
| DK/NS | 21 | 7 |
Adds to more than 100% because more than one response was permitted
28A. Have you ever heard of the “Polaris Project”?
| Yes | 7 |
| No | 93 |
28B. IF YES, ASK: What do you know about the Polaris Project?
Not enough respondents to provide percentages
29A. Have you ever heard of the “Blue Campaign”?
| Yes | 6 |
| No | 94 |
29B. IF YES, ASK: Who sponsors the “Blue Campaign”?
Not enough respondents to provide percentages
29C. IF YES, ASK: What is the Blue Campaign about?
Not enough respondents to provide percentages
29D. Have you heard of the National Human Trafficking Resource Center?
| Yes | 28 |
| No | 72 |
29E. IF YES, ASK: Do you know the phone number or text number for the National Human Trafficking Resource Center?
Of those who have heard of the National Human Trafficking Resource Center:
| Yes | 11 |
| No | 89 |
29F. The US Senate recently passed legislation to fight human sex trafficking in the United States. The legislation was held up for a significant amount of time by a controversy. Were you aware of the issue that held up the legislation?
| Yes, aware of the controversy | 15 |
| No, not aware of the controversy | 85 |
29G. IF YES, ASK: What was the controversy that held up the sex trafficking legislation?
Of those who have heard of the controversy:
| Abortion funding/Hyde Amendment | 10 |
| Dispute over Loretta Lynch, new Attorney General | 5 |
| Immigration | 2 |
| Disagreement over whether to pass the bill | 4 |
| Nothing | 4 |
| Other | 36 |
| DK/NS | 44 |
Adds to more than 100% because more than one response was permitted
29H. Have you heard any negative publicity about nail salon operations lately?
| Yes | 29 |
| No | 71 |
29I. IF YES: What did you hear about nail salons?
Of those who have heard about the nail salons:
| Toxic chemicals used/harmful fumes | 17 |
| Cleanliness/dirty environment | 18 |
| Use of forced labor | 13 |
| Low wages | 22 |
| Use of illegal immigrants | 8 |
| Poor working conditions | 9 |
| Unsafe/dangerous working conditions | 11 |
| Front for prostitution | 11 |
| Employers held on to papers/visas | 1 |
| Employees paid owners for work | 1 |
| Racial discrimination | 2 |
| Legislation to protect nail salon workers | 2 |
| Cover for illegal activities | 6 |
| Not properly trained | 1 |
| Media news | 5 |
| Nothing | 2 |
| Other | 8 |
| DK/NS | 10 |
Adds to more than 100% because more than one response was permitted