Michael Shively

Michael Shively is a research and policy expert whose core objective throughout a 35-year career has been to provide practitioners, policymakers, and advocates with information and tools to support their efforts to prevent and respond to the victimization of vulnerable populations. Between 2002 and 2023 he received a continuous series of nine federal grants to lead research on the perpetration, victimization, and system responses to both survivors and offenders in human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. His research on the consumer-level demand that drives all sex trafficking markets includes a rigorous evaluation of a program designed to deter sex buyers. He founded and directs Demand Forum, a website documenting demand reduction/prevention tactics that have been used in more than 3,825 communities throughout the U.S. His prior research includes developing a method for producing valid estimates of human trafficking prevalence; examining the traits and motivations of convicted human traffickers; and conducting a national survey on police responses to human trafficking.  He has presented on these and other issues at legislative hearings, training programs, expert workgroups, and at conferences convened by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; U.S. Department of State; U.S. Department of Health and Social Services; U.S. Department of Justice; National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Center for Disease Control and Prevention; International Association of Chiefs of Police; International Association of Human Trafficking Investigators; National Association of Attorneys General; Massachusetts Bar Association; American Public Health Association; Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences; and the American Society of Criminology. He has served as a Senior Advisor to the National Center on Sexual Exploitation and Street Grace; as a Senior Associate at Abt Associates; and as an Assistant Professor at the College of Criminal Justice, Northeastern University.