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Research by RIA

We don't just serve survivors. We listen — and we publish what we learn.

Peer-reviewed · 2025

Understanding People's Lived Experiences (2025)

After years of work since 2018 — and enormous patience — we're proud to share this published article, in partnership with William James College. Thank you to Dr. Paola Contreras, the William James College Human Trafficking Research Hub, and above all to the dozens of survivors who made this research possible.

Citation

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.

View findings
Report · 2015

The Local Online Sex Market (2015)

A three-month data-mining study with William James College and the Imagine Foundation, monitoring the online commercial sex market in the Boston and Worcester regions from March 1 to May 31, 2015. The team collected data on nearly 17,000 ads for commercial sex, estimated to have generated $7.7 million in revenue. Patterns in this data — volume, distribution by day — allow inference of market trends, and in other US cities have helped law enforcement identify exploited people and helped service organizations target outreach.

Full report: The Supply Side of the Online Commercial Sex Market from Boston to Worcester
Founding research · 2013

Community Needs Assessment (2013)

RIA's founding research: 88 key-informant interviews across nine population sectors in MetroWest and Central Massachusetts.

Unpublished report: Assessing Community Readiness to Respond to Commercial Sexual Exploitation in MetroWest & Central Massachusetts

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