Running head: WEBSITE ANALYSIS

Human Trafficking and the UNODC webpage

Daniela Flores

The University of Texas at El Paso

RWS 1301

Professor Hernandez
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Human Trafficking and the UNODC webpage

Human trafficking is . . .the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of

persons. . .for the purpose of exploitation. (McLaughlin, n.d.) Every year, thousands of

individuals find themselves in the hands of traffickers. As of now, various organization have

been combating this horrific crime. The United Nations office on Drugs and Crime(UNODC)

could be an example of said organizations that are combating human trafficking. The UNODC

has a segment in their website addressing human trafficking and their contributions against it. I

will be analyzing the impact the layout of the UNODC webpage has on how we perceive the

content of the website, along with the rhetoric appeals one if able to find in its content.

Layout

When you first look at the UNODCs website youll see that it has a white background,

has no advertisements and that its content is centered, which helps the reader concentrate on the

websites material. At the very top of the webpage youll find the logo of the organization along

with a search bar. On the left side theres a list of the issues the UNODC is involved in which is

titled as Topics. On the right side information about the organization is displayed such as its

goals, commission, social media accounts etc. At the very center news about the organizations

contributions are displayed with captivating headlines thatll intrigue curiosity to the reader.

I found the article that I used by typing my topic on the search bar. I then was directed to

an article that the UNODC put together to inform the public about this crime. The layout of the

webpage of the article is basically the same as the homepage; that is the logo is at the top, the

issues the UNODC is combating are at the right and the white background remains.
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Logos

One of the three rhetoric appeals I will be stating in my article is Logos. Logos is

basically the use of facts to persuade its audience through reasoning. The UNODCs homepage

is basically pure logos as its content is information about the organization. The article is also

complete logos as it states what constitutes to human trafficking, why its labeled a crime and a

description of human trafficking. Logos was used throughout this article and homepage as they

used facts to appeal to the audience.

Ethos

The second rhetoric appeal is ethos. Ethos is the use of credibility to persuade the reader.

In both the homepage and in the article, I did not find this appeal. Ethos could be beneficial to

this article to make the content portrayed more credible to us. For instance, while describing why

human trafficking violates human rights, they couldve quoted an attorney that specializes in

representing human trafficking victims or the executive director of the UNODC to make it seem

more factual.

Pathos

Pathos is the last rhetoric appeal; pathos is the use of emotions to persuade. An image at

the very bottom of the article could be passed as pathos as the body language of the women in

that image could evoke feelings of sympathy as she can be portrayed in distress. Other then that

image, just like ethos, the homepage and the article of the UNODC lacked pathos. One reason

behind this could be for the fact that all the content is written in a monotonal manner.

The use of pathos would have contributed a lot to the UNODCs webpage as the

organization is combating crimes that can impact all of us. In the article, the use of pathos would

have made the message more compelling on why we need to act to stop human trafficking. The
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addition of a testimony of a victim of human trafficking would have impacted the readers

emotion and had truly display how awful this crime is.

Conclusion

Overall the UNODC is a reliable website to gather information about the topics the

organization is involved in for example aids, terrorism, human trafficking, etc. The website is

easy to navigate as the content is displayed in a cohesive matter. The lack of ethos and pathos can

be justified as the UNODC is a very known organization that doesnt need any form of

persuasion techniques as they are not selling anything or asking for donations online as they get

donations through meetings they host with national leaders from all around the world. The

absence of advertisements also contributes to seeing the UNODC as a serious organization that

isnt money driven. Analyzing the UNODC website made me appreciate the efforts theyre doing

to end horrific crimes that are affecting millions globally.

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References

L. (n.d). United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Retrieved October 14, 2017, from

https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/what-is-human-trafficking.html