The research study titled Labor Recruitment and Human Trafficking: Analysis of a Global Trafficking Survivor Database explores the intricate relationship between labour recruitment and human trafficking. Utilizing the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) Global Victim of Trafficking Database, which encompasses data on nearly 50,000 trafficking survivors from 2002 to 2018, this study was conducted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in partnership with the Freedom Fund. The primary focus was to examine how third-party recruitment contributes to forced labour and exploitation across various industries, including agriculture, domestic work, and sexual exploitation. Employing a descriptive-analytical approach, the study aimed to illuminate recruitment patterns and the experiences of victims across different sectors.
Findings indicated that around 94% of victims were recruited, often through personal networks or job advertisements. Recruitment into forced labour was particularly prevalent in agriculture and construction, while sexual exploitation victims frequently emerged from personal connections. The research also uncovered troubling trends of psychological and physical abuse, debt bondage, and the denial of fundamental rights within the trafficking continuum. These insights underscore the notion that human trafficking is a pervasive issue within the global labour market, necessitating comprehensive strategies to tackle the systemic vulnerabilities associated with low-wage labour migration.
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