Building partnerships for impactful human trafficking data

More than 150 anti-trafficking leaders gathered at the 2026 SMU Human Trafficking Data Conference with a shared goal: making data more accurate, accessible and actionable.

Supported by champion sponsor Collaborosity, the two-day conference brought together researchers, practitioners, law enforcement and governmental officials, nonprofit and for-profit organizations, data scientists, students, and others devoted to anti-trafficking. Presentations focused on current strengths and weaknesses in existing human trafficking data, effective strategies for increasing data efficacy, and opportunities for collaboration on future research.

The U.S. Department of State estimates that 27.6 million people are trafficked worldwide for labor and sexual exploitation. Texas consistently ranks amongst one the most trafficked states in the nation, alongside California and Florida.

Beth Wheaton-Páramo, the economist who leads the SMU Human Trafficking Data Research (HTDR) Project and organizes the annual conference, said the event connects experts across a wide range of disciplines in order to improve human trafficking data creation and research.

"It's sometimes difficult to get law enforcement and nonprofits to work together. It's sometimes difficult to make sure survivors’ voices are heard in data creation and research," Wheaton-Páramo said. "This conference creates that collaborative environment where we all come together with open hands to support each other."

Wheaton-Páramo has long emphasized that the quality of human trafficking data is the foundation upon which all other anti-trafficking efforts depend. 

"Human trafficking legislation that is not based on data is ineffective. Law enforcement procedures that are not based on data are ineffective. Training about human trafficking that is not based on data is ineffective," she said. "We're building that foundation of data to be able to say, here's what really is going on, so that we can help inform the other activities and organizations."

Beth Wheaton-Páramo, who organizes the annual conference, stressed, "Human trafficking legislation that is not based on data is ineffective. Law enforcement procedures that are not based on data are ineffective. Training about human trafficking that is not based on data is ineffective." Credit: SMU.

A different kind of conference

Attendees noted that the SMU conference fills a distinctive role in the anti-trafficking landscape. Most human trafficking conferences, participants said, focus on training — educating people about the basics of identifying trafficking and understanding red flags. 

But Natly Denise – who is the founder and president of Counter Trafficking Alliance, was a speaker at the data conference and has attended two prior ones – said “this is the one that most interests me, because everybody speaks from a technical standpoint.”

Denise said speakers of all different types come to the conference with a problem they’ve identified in human trafficking data “for the community to put their heads together about. I think the collaborative piece is what piques my interest to solve the problems in human trafficking.” 

Meanwhile, Founder and CEO of Faith Collaborative Kimberly Williams, said, “a data conference gives you an opportunity to figure out what to do with information you have and how best to put that into practice in your everyday workspace. That's a huge difference [from other human trafficking conferences]."

Williams added, “Good data helps you make better decisions.” 

SMU's commitment to research that matters

SMU Vice Provost for Research and Chief Innovation Officer Suku Nair underscored that the HTDR Project exemplifies SMU's research mission.

"At SMU, we’re focused on research that matters for the community, to society, to the country, and for humanity," Nair said at the conference. "When I look at the various projects in our research portfolio, I cannot think of a single project more fitting to that tagline than the research that Beth and her team are doing."

The SMU Human Trafficking Data Warehouse is also a component of the SMU Human Trafficking Data Research (HTDR) Project.

Backed by SMU's high-performance computing capabilities, the data warehouse centralizes anti-trafficking data from the U.S. and around the globe into a single secure platform. The warehouse allows experts to store and analyze data, identify trends and collaborate on research, while innovations in AI, machine learning and statistical modeling continue to expand its potential.

For more information on this, the conference and other work the SMU Human Trafficking Data Research (HTDR) Project does, visit www.smu.edu/htdr.