Research by RIA
Understanding People’s Lived Experiences (2025)
It is after years of hard work (since 2018), collaboration, and patience that we share this published article done in partnership with William James College. Thank you, Dr. Paola Contreras, the entire William James College, Human Trafficking Research Hub Community, and especially the dozens of survivors who made this research possible.
Contreras, P. M., Wilson, N., Joseph, A., Valentine, S., Minahan, J., Reed-Barnes, S., Wightman, H., Dockery, J., Stahl, J., Kallivayalil, D., Kirsch, N., Waterman, B., Wilson, S., Greenberg, R. M., Carter, C., Eid, S., Ayala-Conesa, M. L., Sanchez, A., & Herlihy, L. (2025). The roles of adult attachment and complex trauma in sex trafficking-related coercive bonding: entry, entrapment, and the challenges of exiting. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy.
Local On-Line Sex Market (2015)
In 2015, RIA performed a three month data-mining study in partnership with William James College and the Imagine Foundation. The study monitored the online commercial sex market in Massachusetts’ Boston and Worcester regions from March 1 through May 31, 2015. The research team collected data on almost 17,000 ads for commercial sex that were estimated to have generated $7.7 million in revenue. Data such as the number of people sold online for sex and distribution of adds by day of the week allow the analysis of patterns in this market and inferences of trends in the buying and selling of sex. In other U.S. cities similar data mining studies have helped local law enforcement identify persons exploited within the sex industry and have also been instrumental for service organizations to develop targeted outreach.
Needs Assessment (2013)
RIA performed a community readiness assessment in early 2013. We conducted 88 key informant interviews across nine population sectors in two geographic regions of Massachusetts, Metro West and Central Massachusetts.