Charles E. Hounmenou, Ph.D., M.S.W., M.Ed., M.A., is an Associate Professor at the Jane Addams College of Social Work, University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). He received his doctoral degree in social work from UIC in 2009. His research areas include human trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation of children, and human rights of detainees. In 2009, Hounmenou conducted the first ever study on the input of a statewide coalition in the implementation of human trafficking policy in the United States. In 2013–2014, he was the principal investigator of an international comparative study of child sex trafficking and its links with child migration in three countries in West Africa. Hounmenou, a former Fulbright Scholar, has published a book, 15 peer-reviewed journal articles, and two book chapters on human trafficking. He has provided consultation on human trafficking in African countries and the U.S. In 2020, Hounmenou received the UIC’s Rising Star Award in Social Sciences Research. In 2018, he received the International Human Trafficking and Social Justice Conference’s Influential Scholar Award for his work on human trafficking and social justice issues. One of his current research projects focuses on private investigations agencies’ input in the fight against human trafficking.
