Welcome to the Slavery Research Bulletin, the Freedom Fund’s monthly brief designed to bring you new & compelling research from the global anti-slavery movement.

Migration of women in Nepal’s adult entertainment sector is not safe

A survey of 312 Nepali women and girls in the adult entertainment sector who migrated abroad for work finds that the majority of respondents were unaware of safety measures for migration, and over half had not done a health check-up before departure. The study, by Campaign for Rights and SaMi, explores the vulnerabilities faced by these women migrant workers.

Child labour in India’s cities is on the rise, but declining nationwide

A comprehensive review by UNICEF finds that although child labour has declined in India, the number of children working in cities has increased. The report calls for a closer examination of the relationship between education and child labour, as a majority of India’s working children ages 5-14 are literate.

Difficult to assess UK Border Force’s performance identifying victims of modern slavery

A report by the UK’s Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration cites difficulties obtaining a clear picture of Border Force’s performance in identifying traffickers and potential victims of modern slavery. It calls for improving the collection of data to create an evidence base from which Border Force can learn and improve.

“Remittances for development” model must account for gender differences

New research by UN Women argues for a broader understanding of development remittances that encompasses the social contributions of women migrants. The report highlights the human development potential of women’s labour migration while critically considering what constitutes development.

Mental health needs of sex trafficking survivors are severe and poorly understood

The ILO estimates that over three million women are trafficked for sex globally, yet almost nothing is known about how best to treat victims with mental trauma. A researcher from the Mayo Clinic outlines the limitations to current knowledge of mental issues in sex trafficking and offers recommendations on how to improve research and treatment.

Read on…

• A scoping study commissioned by Girls Not Brides examines the potential of Entertainment-Education initiatives to instigate positive social norm change on child marriage.
• A special issue of the Journal of Human Trafficking addresses the problem of unreliable prevalence data on trafficking by discussing the competing data sources and research practices.
• Research from George Mason University explores how sex trafficking survivors who return to their communities manage pressure to provide financially for their families.

And finally…

Latest article by Nick Grono, CEO of the Freedom Fund, on the horrors of forced marriage faced by girls and women from Myanmar.

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