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.
Protecting migrant workers through responsible recruitment
A new scoping study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Freedom Fund compiles global evidence on models of responsible recruitment to protect low-wage cross-border migrant workers. Of the 101 examples identified from 32 countries, the most common initiatives were those targeting knowledge building and training, regulation and migration cost reduction.
Online sexual exploitation of children in the Philippines
International Justice Mission reports on using existing data sources to investigate online sexual exploitation of children (OSEC) in the Philippines, one of the major countries of OSEC. Using in-depth case file reviews of cyber tip-line reports, the study revealed that 64 percent of cases were initiated by international law enforcement, with customers largely from Western countries, and that OSEC was typically a family-facilitated crime.
Rapid response survey to aid vulnerable communities during a pandemic
Street Child surveyed over 12,000 beneficiaries of their programs across 13 countries to determine where rapid responses to covid-19 can be best served. An overwhelming 96 percent of respondents reported concerns around the increased risk of child exploitation, and that one in two children do not have access to alternative learning opportunities. 44 percent of respondents also reported receiving no covid-19 assistance during this time.
Use of cash transfers in combatting modern slavery
Walk Free provides lessons on effective use of cash transfer programs to protect vulnerable populations from exploitation, especially children. The policy paper notes that regardless of conditional or non-conditional cash transfers, interventions to improve child livelihood must include longer programs and go beyond financial incentives to create lasting change.
Collecting data on violence against women and girls during covid-19
UN Women explores the challenges of data collection on violence against women and girls during the covid-19 pandemic and how to ensure safe research practices. Guidance includes using pre-existing data, avoiding sensitive topics that put respondents at risk and focusing especially on the needs of marginalised women and girls.
Read on…
- A report by the Asia Floor Wage Alliance on the state of garment supply chains during covid-19.
- An article from Human Rights Quarterly on how measuring human rights data also applies to modern slavery.
- Findings from the United Nations Development Programme on the impact of covid-19 in business and human rights across Asia.
And finally…
The Freedom Fund recently hosted a panel discussion “On the frontlines of vulnerability: Research in the time of pandemic”, on the best research practices during covid-19. A recording of the webinar is available here.
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News & updates For more news and updates about the Freedom Fund, visit our Newsroom. You can also view archived issues of our bulletin here.
