Abstract
Human trafficking is a crime that most people have limited knowledge of. While there are numbers of programs introduced and implemented, research on public awareness and knowledge on human trafficking is scant. Hence, this study focused on the level of awareness and knowledge of San Pablo City community members about the nature, scope, and concept of human trafficking in terms of the acts, means employed, and purposes of human trafficking. The study employed a descriptive research design in the form of a survey questionnaire. The sample size of two hundred sixteen (216) people was drawn from various sectors using a purposive and convenience sampling. From the gathered quantitative data, frequency count, weighted mean, and ANOVA were used for analysis. The findings indicated that the community is aware and knowledgeable about human trafficking, however, some people still do not understand the nature, extent and concept of human trafficking due to their reliance on the media rather than direct participation as a social responsibility. The level of awareness and knowledge among the different group of respondents significantly varies since they have different level of perception. Further, along with other media platforms including the internet, seminars at the barangay level, radio, newspapers, seminars at educational institutions, posters, and pamphlets to familiarize the public with human trafficking, the majority preferred television as their primary source of information.
Keywords: trafficking in persons, modern day slavery, community awareness, community knowledge, misrepresentations
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