The Global Initiative Network

Expert

Vanessa Bouché

Managing Director, Bouché Associates

Dr. Vanessa Bouché is an award-winning thought-leader and scholar who has earned over $1 million in federal research grants. Her published work on human trafficking has taken her all over the world, sharing her expertise through consulting and speaking for dozens of organizations including the U.S. State Department, UN Office on Drugs & Crime, the U.S. Agency for International Development, Polaris, McCain Institute, and Thorn.

Bouché is a social entrepreneur who develops innovative solutions to social problems. The lack of publicly available, valid and reliable data on human trafficking in the U.S. led her to create HumanTraffickingData.org, the largest open-access searchable web application of human trafficking in the U.S. And the barriers that trafficking survivors face to secure sustainable, living-wage employment catalyzed her to found Savhera, a natural wellness company that provides jobs to survivors.

She received her B.A. from Columbia University, her M.P.Aff. from the University of Texas, LBJ School of Public Affairs, and her Ph.D. in political science from The Ohio State University. She has formerly worked as an intelligence analyst, an Associate Professor at Texas Christian University, and currently serves as a Research Fellow at SMU AT&T Center for Virtualization.

Publications
  • De Vries, Ieke, Amy Farrell, Vanessa Bouché, and Dana Wittmer-Wolfe. 2019. “Crime Frames and Gender Differences in the Activation of Crime Concern and Crime Responses.” Journal of Criminal Justice. Available online December 11. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2019.101651
  • De Vries, Ieke, Connor Nickerson, Amy Farrell, Dana Wittmer-Wolfe, and Vanessa Bouché. 2019. “Anti-immigration sentiment and public opinion on human trafficking.” Crime, Law & Social Change 72(1): 125-143.
  • Farrell, Amy, Vanessa Bouché, and Dana Wolfe. 2019. “Assessing the Effectiveness of State Human Trafficking Legislation.” Law & Policy 41(2): 174-197.
  • Bouché, Vanessa and Sean Crotty. 2018. “The Red-Light Network: Exploring the Locational Strategies of Illicit Massage Businesses in Houston, Texas.” Papers in Applied Geography 4(2): 205-227.
  • Bouché, Vanessa, Amy Farrell, and Dana Wittmer-Wolfe. 2018. “Challenging the Dominant Frame: The Moderating Impact of Exposure and Knowledge on Perceptions of Sex Trafficking Victimization.” Social Science Quarterly 99(4): 1283-1302.
  • Bouché, Vanessa. 2018. “From Categories to Context: The Identity Meaning Theory and Political Engagement.” Social Science Quarterly 99(2): 711-727.
  • Bouché, Vanessa and Sean Crotty. 2017. “Estimating Demand for Illicit Massage Businesses in Houston, TX.” Journal of Human Trafficking 4(4): 279-297.
  • Bouché, Vanessa and Stephanie Shady. 2017. “A Pimp’s Game: A rational choice approach to understanding the decisions of sex traffickers.” Women & Criminal Justice 27(2): 91-108.
  • Bouché, Vanessa and Dana Wittmer. 2015. “Gendered Diffusion on Gendered Issues: The Case of Human Trafficking.” Journal of Public Policy 35(1): 1-33.
  • Wittmer, Dana and Vanessa Bouché. 2013. “The Limits of Gendered Leadership: The Public Policy Implications of Female Leadership on Women’s Issues.” Politics & Gender 9: 245-275.

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