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A multi-site data sample for analyzing the online commercial sex ecosystem
Nickolas K Freeman1, Gregory J Bott2, Burcu B Keskin2
1The University of Alabama, Culverhouse College of Business, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USA. freem028@ua.edu.
This study introduces a large, anonymized dataset of over 10 million online sex advertisements. This resource aims to support data-driven research into online sex trafficking and victim interventions.
Area of Science:
- Criminology
- Computer Science
- Sociology
Background:
- Online sex advertisements (sex ads) are linked to U.S. sex trafficking.
- The closure of Backpage.com led to a proliferation of competing sites, often hosted internationally.
- Limited research exists on current sex ad platforms beyond Backpage, especially using multi-site data.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present a comprehensive, anonymized dataset of over 10 million sex ads from multiple online platforms.
- To lower research barriers for data-driven counter-trafficking initiatives.
- To facilitate research on sex ad ecosystems, inter-site connectivity, and ad legitimacy.
Main Methods:
- Compilation of an anonymized dataset from text and image artifacts of over 10 million online sex advertisements.
- Focus on data from multiple competing websites, not solely Backpage.com.
- Dataset is made publicly available to researchers.
Main Results:
- A large-scale, anonymized dataset of online sex ads is now available.
- The dataset encompasses data from various platforms in the current online sex ad ecosystem.
- This resource enables new avenues for research into sex trafficking.
Conclusions:
- The publicly available dataset is a crucial resource for counter-trafficking research.
- It will enable hypothesis testing on sex ads, inter-site connectivity, and posting behaviors.
- Advancements in this research can lead to interventions for sex trafficking (ST) victims.
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