As more governments answer the call to take action against trafficking in persons, there has been a groundswell of momentum to improve data collection and analysis to help learn more about human trafficking. In turn, as more governments report on or seek to report on trafficking in persons, it is natural to standardize data collection efforts.

To this end, IOM, in partnership with UNODC, has developed a common international classification standard, the ICS-TIP, that aims to facilitate the production and dissemination of high-quality administrative data relating to various aspects of the crime of trafficking in persons. The ICS-TIP conceptualizes the characteristics of the individuals, events and organizations involved in a trafficking in persons case, with a view to producing easily aggregated raw data for a range of government uses and for sharing and reporting at the national, regional and international levels.

This initiative was generously funded by the IOM Development Fund, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands (BZ) through their generous contribution to the COMPASS Programme and the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. The contents are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the IOM Development Fund, BZ or the U.S. government.