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. Subscribe to our bulletin here.

Growing gap faced by children living in poverty and conflict

Save the Children’s second annual End of Childhood Report takes a hard look at the factors that prevent children from reaching their full potential and finds a growing gap between rich and poor families. Among the poorest 20 percent, children are three times more likely to be engaged in child labour and girls are four times more likely to be married, compared to the wealthiest 20 percent.

Workers arbitrarily arrested and detained in more countries

The number of countries where workers were arbitrarily arrested and detained increased from 44 in 2017 to 59 in 2018. Globally, exploitation of workers is growing and there is increasing violence suffered by defenders of workers’ rights, according to ITUC’s 2018 Global Rights Index. The report included the finding that 81 percent of countries have denied some or all workers collective bargaining.

Debt bondage at base of tea and cocoa supply chains

Research into the Indian tea and Ghanaian cocoa industry reveals a systemic pattern of labour exploitation, including forced labour, debt bondage and physical abuse. The study by the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute found that half of all tea workers do not have access to drinking water and average income among cocoa workers is 89 percent below the national living wage.

Hazardous child labour on Zimbabwe tobacco farms

Among the 64 small-scale tobacco farms in Zimbabwe surveyed by Human Rights Watch, over half reported using child labour. Despite efforts to prohibit children from hazardous work, the report finds that most child workers have experienced symptoms linked to nicotine poisoning and pesticide exposure.

Bonded labour continues due to poor policy implementation

A new briefing on modern slavery by the Institute of Development Studies highlights the importance of inclusive policies and effective implementation to end forced labour in India and Nepal. Key recommendations include enforcing existing laws and improving access to justice, as well as supporting local approaches that build resilience among marginalised communities.

Read on…

• A journal article in PLOS One evaluates the impact of eliminating primary school tuition fees on child marriage in sub-Saharan Africa.
• New guidelines from Stanford University provide frontline practitioners in Southeast Asia with tools for strengthening data collection on human trafficking.
• A report by the International Labor Rights Forum takes stock of a technology pilot to end labour exploitation and illegal fishing in Thailand’s seafood industry.

And finally

A new video series raising awareness of human trafficking for Myanmar migrants was launched by IOM X.

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