Vanessa Bouché
Biographic Data
| ID | 105028 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Vanessa Bouché |
| GIVEN NAMES | Vanessa |
| FAMILY NAME | Bouché |
| SIGNATURE | BOUCHÉ V |
| AFFILIATIONS | Texas Christian University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6293-0551 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 14 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 81 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 14 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2011 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Organized Crime and Human Trafficking in the United States
Despite prevailing narratives that human trafficking is largely driven by transnational organized crime groups, little empirical research has rigorously tested this assumption. This study presents a novel 5-S typology—size, scope, sophistication, structure, and self-identification—which yields five different types of organized crime groups: mom & pop, crime rings, street gangs, illicit businesses, and cartels/mafias/syndicates. Analyzing over 2,3…
Human Trafficking Policy Evolution: Analyzing Punctuated Diffusion Across Two Decades
Federal Human Trafficking Prosecution Data: Identifying Trends, Gaps, and Disparities to Advance Evidence-Based Reforms
Jobs for Justice: The Impact of Stable Employment in Expediting Financial Wellbeing for Survivors of Human Trafficking
Financial wellbeing – broadly characterized as a liveable income, savings, and autonomy over financial decisions – has been shown to influence physical and psychological health and is therefore an important element of holistic wellbeing. The present study examines the factors that impact the financial wellbeing of survivors of human trafficking in the United States. Using survey data from a sample of trafficking survivors in the U.S. we find that…
Crime frames and gender differences in the activation of crime concern and crime responses
Assessing the Impact of State Human Trafficking Legislation on Criminal Justice System Outcomes
Since 2003, state legislatures in the United States have been active in passing legislation aimed at combating human trafficking. To date, all states have passed laws that criminalize acts of human trafficking, though with significant variation in the penalty structure and associated legal provisions. This article examines what aspects of state human trafficking laws are most impactful at increasing the arrest and prosecution of human trafficking…
Challenging the Dominant Frame: The Moderating Impact of Exposure and Knowledge on Perceptions of Sex Trafficking Victimization
Objective Human trafficking problems have largely been framed by political elites and the media as a sexual crime involving innocent victims who are largely women and children. It is unclear how this framing impacts the public's attitudes about the issue. Here, we ask what types of sex trafficking victim frames produce the strongest response among the American public and how does increased exposure and accurate knowledge about the issue moderate …
From Categories to Context: Identity Meaning and Political Engagement
Objectives The objective of this article is to set forth and test the identity meaning theory. Borne out of extant theories in sociology and social psychology, this theory posits that all individuals have a salient identity that is hierarchically superior, that individuals attach a subjective meaning to their salient identity that varies in an interpersonal‐intergroup matrix, and that the subjective meaning of the salient identity ultimately guid…
Estimating demand for illicit massage businesses in Houston, Texas
Illicit massage businesses are growing in number across the United States, yet they remain an understudied niche of the underground commercial sex economy despite implications for public health and criminal justice. This research fills an empirical gap in our understanding of illicit massage businesses by estimating actual demand for these businesses in one U.S. city, Houston, TX. We find that there are roughly 2,869 customers per day at illicit …
A Pimp's Game: A Rational Choice Approach to Understanding the Decisions of Sex Traffickers
We employ a rational choice framework to understand the conditions under which sex traffickers allow their victims access to telecommunications devices while under their control. We posit that sex traffickers are rational actors who make calculated decisions regarding whether to allow their victims access to the Internet and cell phones. We hypothesize that sex traffickers allow younger victims and those they did not defraud in the recruitment pr…
Gendered diffusion on gendered issues: The Case of Human Trafficking
This study aims to identify those factors that impact the comprehensiveness of state human trafficking legislation. To do so, we propose independent effects of policy diffusion and the percentage of females in a state legislature. Building on this framework, we then suggest a process of gendered diffusion, whereby female state legislators represent a unique diffusion network for “women’s interest” issues both within their own legislature, as well…
Migration, Prostitution, and Human Trafficking: The Voice of Chinese Women
The Limits of Gendered Leadership: Policy Implications of Female Leadership on “Women's Issues
Over the course of the last thirty years, women have made significant strides toward gender equity in politics. The percentage of women serving in state legislatures has risen from 8.1% in 1975 to more than 24% in 2013 (CAWP 2013). Not surprisingly, this increase of women in politics has sparked many questions and much research about the impact of women in public office (Carroll 2001). While this body of scholarship has investigated such importan…
Privatization and the Diffusion of Innovations
The privatization of government services tends to bring about a more rapid adoption of innovative policies due to the competitive pressures of the market. In federal systems, however, the diffusion of innovations across subnational governments may offset such benefits of privatization. In this study, we test whether county governments that have privatized their provision of foster care services are more or less likely to adopt policy innovations …
The Limits of Gendered Leadership: Policy Implications of Female Leadership on “Women's Issues
Over the course of the last thirty years, women have made significant strides toward gender equity in politics. The percentage of women serving in state legislatures has risen from 8.1% in 1975 to more than 24% in 2013 (CAWP 2013). Not surprisingly, this increase of women in politics has sparked many questions and much research about the impact of women in public office (Carroll 2001). While this body of scholarship has investigated such importan…
Privatization and the Diffusion of Innovations
The privatization of government services tends to bring about a more rapid adoption of innovative policies due to the competitive pressures of the market. In federal systems, however, the diffusion of innovations across subnational governments may offset such benefits of privatization. In this study, we test whether county governments that have privatized their provision of foster care services are more or less likely to adopt policy innovations …
Gendered diffusion on gendered issues: The Case of Human Trafficking
This study aims to identify those factors that impact the comprehensiveness of state human trafficking legislation. To do so, we propose independent effects of policy diffusion and the percentage of females in a state legislature. Building on this framework, we then suggest a process of gendered diffusion, whereby female state legislators represent a unique diffusion network for “women’s interest” issues both within their own legislature, as well…
Assessing the Impact of State Human Trafficking Legislation on Criminal Justice System Outcomes
Since 2003, state legislatures in the United States have been active in passing legislation aimed at combating human trafficking. To date, all states have passed laws that criminalize acts of human trafficking, though with significant variation in the penalty structure and associated legal provisions. This article examines what aspects of state human trafficking laws are most impactful at increasing the arrest and prosecution of human trafficking…
Challenging the Dominant Frame: The Moderating Impact of Exposure and Knowledge on Perceptions of Sex Trafficking Victimization
Objective Human trafficking problems have largely been framed by political elites and the media as a sexual crime involving innocent victims who are largely women and children. It is unclear how this framing impacts the public's attitudes about the issue. Here, we ask what types of sex trafficking victim frames produce the strongest response among the American public and how does increased exposure and accurate knowledge about the issue moderate …
Estimating demand for illicit massage businesses in Houston, Texas
Illicit massage businesses are growing in number across the United States, yet they remain an understudied niche of the underground commercial sex economy despite implications for public health and criminal justice. This research fills an empirical gap in our understanding of illicit massage businesses by estimating actual demand for these businesses in one U.S. city, Houston, TX. We find that there are roughly 2,869 customers per day at illicit …
From Categories to Context: Identity Meaning and Political Engagement
Objectives The objective of this article is to set forth and test the identity meaning theory. Borne out of extant theories in sociology and social psychology, this theory posits that all individuals have a salient identity that is hierarchically superior, that individuals attach a subjective meaning to their salient identity that varies in an interpersonal‐intergroup matrix, and that the subjective meaning of the salient identity ultimately guid…
Privatization and the Diffusion of Innovations
The privatization of government services tends to bring about a more rapid adoption of innovative policies due to the competitive pressures of the market. In federal systems, however, the diffusion of innovations across subnational governments may offset such benefits of privatization. In this study, we test whether county governments that have privatized their provision of foster care services are more or less likely to adopt policy innovations …
The Limits of Gendered Leadership: Policy Implications of Female Leadership on “Women's Issues
Over the course of the last thirty years, women have made significant strides toward gender equity in politics. The percentage of women serving in state legislatures has risen from 8.1% in 1975 to more than 24% in 2013 (CAWP 2013). Not surprisingly, this increase of women in politics has sparked many questions and much research about the impact of women in public office (Carroll 2001). While this body of scholarship has investigated such importan…
Migration, Prostitution, and Human Trafficking: The Voice of Chinese Women
Gendered diffusion on gendered issues: The Case of Human Trafficking
This study aims to identify those factors that impact the comprehensiveness of state human trafficking legislation. To do so, we propose independent effects of policy diffusion and the percentage of females in a state legislature. Building on this framework, we then suggest a process of gendered diffusion, whereby female state legislators represent a unique diffusion network for “women’s interest” issues both within their own legislature, as well…
A Pimp's Game: A Rational Choice Approach to Understanding the Decisions of Sex Traffickers
We employ a rational choice framework to understand the conditions under which sex traffickers allow their victims access to telecommunications devices while under their control. We posit that sex traffickers are rational actors who make calculated decisions regarding whether to allow their victims access to the Internet and cell phones. We hypothesize that sex traffickers allow younger victims and those they did not defraud in the recruitment pr…
Challenging the Dominant Frame: The Moderating Impact of Exposure and Knowledge on Perceptions of Sex Trafficking Victimization
Objective Human trafficking problems have largely been framed by political elites and the media as a sexual crime involving innocent victims who are largely women and children. It is unclear how this framing impacts the public's attitudes about the issue. Here, we ask what types of sex trafficking victim frames produce the strongest response among the American public and how does increased exposure and accurate knowledge about the issue moderate …
From Categories to Context: Identity Meaning and Political Engagement
Objectives The objective of this article is to set forth and test the identity meaning theory. Borne out of extant theories in sociology and social psychology, this theory posits that all individuals have a salient identity that is hierarchically superior, that individuals attach a subjective meaning to their salient identity that varies in an interpersonal‐intergroup matrix, and that the subjective meaning of the salient identity ultimately guid…
Estimating demand for illicit massage businesses in Houston, Texas
Illicit massage businesses are growing in number across the United States, yet they remain an understudied niche of the underground commercial sex economy despite implications for public health and criminal justice. This research fills an empirical gap in our understanding of illicit massage businesses by estimating actual demand for these businesses in one U.S. city, Houston, TX. We find that there are roughly 2,869 customers per day at illicit …
Assessing the Impact of State Human Trafficking Legislation on Criminal Justice System Outcomes
Since 2003, state legislatures in the United States have been active in passing legislation aimed at combating human trafficking. To date, all states have passed laws that criminalize acts of human trafficking, though with significant variation in the penalty structure and associated legal provisions. This article examines what aspects of state human trafficking laws are most impactful at increasing the arrest and prosecution of human trafficking…
Crime frames and gender differences in the activation of crime concern and crime responses
Jobs for Justice: The Impact of Stable Employment in Expediting Financial Wellbeing for Survivors of Human Trafficking
Financial wellbeing – broadly characterized as a liveable income, savings, and autonomy over financial decisions – has been shown to influence physical and psychological health and is therefore an important element of holistic wellbeing. The present study examines the factors that impact the financial wellbeing of survivors of human trafficking in the United States. Using survey data from a sample of trafficking survivors in the U.S. we find that…
Organized Crime and Human Trafficking in the United States
Despite prevailing narratives that human trafficking is largely driven by transnational organized crime groups, little empirical research has rigorously tested this assumption. This study presents a novel 5-S typology—size, scope, sophistication, structure, and self-identification—which yields five different types of organized crime groups: mom & pop, crime rings, street gangs, illicit businesses, and cartels/mafias/syndicates. Analyzing over 2,3…
Human Trafficking Policy Evolution: Analyzing Punctuated Diffusion Across Two Decades
Federal Human Trafficking Prosecution Data: Identifying Trends, Gaps, and Disparities to Advance Evidence-Based Reforms
Political science (10 works) · Sex work and related issues (10 works) · Sociology (8 works) · Criminology (7 works) · Human trafficking (6 works) · Law (6 works) · Psychology (6 works) · Economics (5 works) · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk (5 works) · Politics (5 works)