Welcome to the Slavery Research Bulletin, designed to provide busy readers in the anti-slavery community with a succinct monthly update on new and interesting research.

International criminal justice and slavery
This special edition of the Journal of International Criminal Justice features articles assessing the different ways in which international criminal justice can be used to fight slavery. The issue is the product of a research project by the UN University, the Freedom Fund and the Permanent Mission of Liechtenstein to the UN.

Global Slavery Index 2016
The 2016 Global Slavery Index, published by the Walk Free Foundation, estimates that 45.8 million men, women and children around the world are today trapped in modern slavery.

Labour and human rights risks in Ecuador’s palm oil sector
Verité has published an analysis of labour and human rights risks for over 150,000 workers in Ecuador’s palm oil sector. Recommendations for the government and palm oil companies include: increased capacity of the labour inspectorate, measures to prosecute cases of forced labour, and improved grievance procedures.

Government and business responses to the Thai seafood crisis
A new report from the Freedom Fund and Humanity United has found that amidst wide-ranging initiatives, launched by both the Thai government and private sector, there remains a significant failure to fully protect workers from exploitation and abuse, particularly with the government’s system of inspections.

Anti-Trafficking Review: Special issue – Prosecuting human trafficking
Issue 6 of the Anti-Trafficking Review analyses human trafficking prosecutions in different regions of the world and from a range of different perspectives. With five themed articles focusing on Russia, the U.S., the Balkans and Western Europe, the issue provides important insights into the practical and policy issues surrounding human trafficking prosecutions.

Read on…

• The International Journal of Social Psychiatry features an investigation [gated] into the prevalence and explanatory factors of depression, anxiety and PTSD symptoms among female survivors of slavery in Nepal.
• The Current Clinical Psychiatry series looks at sigmas and prejudices in the U.S. healthcare system. It features an analysis [gated] of the commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of ‘hidden and forgotten’ minors in the U.S.

And finally
The World Bank’s Development Impact blog reviews the electronic vs. paper based data collection debate.

News & updates
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Contact us
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Credit: Brent Lewin © The Freedom Fund