By Thomas M. Steinfatt Simon Baker Allan Beesey

A commonly held and oft repeated belief is that it is difficult or impossible to know the extent of trafficking throughout the world. Such statements are often followed by pronouncements of the "estimated" numbers of persons trafficked. If the numbers are difficult or impossible to obtain, then where did these “estimates” come from? In attempting to trace the "estimates" back to the methods that produced them, it appears that many and perhaps most may be little more than wild guesses, or even pure fabrications. Once published, this initial publication of the “estimate” is cited by other publications as the source, and the numbers, whether fabrications or valid measurements, take on a credibility of their own.

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