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.
One in five refugee women are victims of sexual violence
A report by the International Rescue Committee finds that violence against women remains an underfunded area of humanitarian response compared to other sectors and do not match the scale of the problem. Despite evidence that shows one in five displaced women around the world experience sexual violence, funding towards this area accounted for just 0.12 percent of all humanitarian funding in 2018.
Critically evaluating the modern slavery regime
A special issue of the Journal of the British Academy features an analysis of modern slavery projects funded by the UK Department for International Development, including several on transparency in supply chains. The research interrogates the effectiveness of law and policy in curbing abuse, and explores how cultural norms influence our understanding of modern slavery.
Violence is a systemic issue faced by women migrant workers
The Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women’s latest research from 22 countries shows that women migrant workers do not experience physical and sexual violence as isolated incidents. Instead the problem stems from a system in which economic pressure to provide for families back home and power differentials between the employer and the employee lead to women migrant workers facing violence and with limited options for redress.
Early impacts of the Better Cotton Initiative in India
A report by the University of Greenwich’s Natural Resources Institute presents the findings from a three-year, randomised controlled trial to assess the early impacts of the Better Cotton Initiative on producers in Andhra Pradesh, India. The report finds that women farmer’s participation in the program is still very low, but the adoption of Better Cotton practices is 17 percent higher among treatment farmers compared to the control group.
Empowering women migrant workers from South Asia
Each year, over three million women migrate from South Asia to the Middle East in search of employment in the domestic work sector. These migrants often work under inconsistent protections and are at high risk of exploitation and trafficking. To help translate policies into real-world protection mechanisms, UN Women has developed a toolkit for gender-responsive employment and recruitment.
Read on…
- An article on the Young Lives study examines the effects of parental influence on child marriage, following a cohort of 1,648 girls in Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam over 11 years.
- An EU report presents research on the severe labour exploitation of migrant workers based on interviews with 237 adults, including foreign nationals and EU citizens.
- A report by Unseen explores the relationship between modern slavery and homelessness in the United Kingdom
And finally…
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