Welcome to the Freedom Fund’s monthly bulletin designed to bring you new and compelling research from the global anti-slavery movement.
Drivers of child marriage and child labour in Karamoja, Uganda
A study by the Freedom Fund and the AfriChild Centre examines the drivers and impacts of child marriage and child labour in Karamoja, Uganda. Drawing on accounts from 92 children and 266 household surveys, the study finds that poverty, recurrent drought, crop failure and livestock loss are key drivers for families to resort to marrying off a daughter for bride price or sending a child to work. While the children surveyed consistently described child marriage as harmful and loss of education, over half of the children reported being proud of their work, providing for their families and earning money to fund their return to school. Participants noted a need for prevention and response programming that addresses systemic drivers, with particular attention given to strengthening the livelihoods of caregivers affected by climate change and supporting children’s sustainable engagement in education.
Pragmatic partnership sustains the monitoring of child and forced labour in authoritarian states
Stockholm University analyses a partnership model between authoritarian states and the International Labour Organization (ILO)’s monitoring mission on child labour and forced labour. Drawing on evidence from multiple sources and tracing the process of the ILO’s monitoring mission in Uzbekistan from 2005 to 2022, the study identifies two conditions that foster meaningful collaboration: international pressure and sustained interpersonal trust-building efforts. While the latter requires face-to-face meetings with a relatively small group of elites to discuss different interests and conflicts, the former requires raising political, reputational and material costs of non-cooperation. The study highlights that while this approach did incrementally increase compliance with international norms, it also risks legitimising autocratic processes and sidelining pro-democratic forces.
UNICEF and UNFPA review evidence of interventions targeting child marriage and female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) in African humanitarian settings. Drawing on 25 interviews across Niger, Kenya and Mozambique, the study identifies 27 promising interventions and barriers to their implementation. These include the use of child protection and gender-based violence information management systems to track child marriage and FGM/C, which risks the loss of cases due to confusion about responsibility for data collection. Other constraining factors included the prioritisation of life-saving activities, limited resources and logistical constraints in humanitarian settings. The study highlights evidence gaps in informing program designs and convincing humanitarian stakeholders, funders and governments to prioritise relevant prevention programming.
Functionality assessment of India’s Anti-Human Trafficking Units
Anti Human Trafficking Units Watch assesses the functioning of AHTUs in India since 2010. Drawing on official data, interviews, field observations, and survivors’ testimonies, the study reveals that the notification of AHTUs as police stations with First Information Report (FIR) powers remains inconsistent across the country, while AHTU personnel are burdened with general policing duties that limit their ability to focus on trafficking investigations and survivor support. The study found low conviction rates, with many cases stalling at the rescue, FIR or arrest stages. Survivor support is largely led by non-governmental organisations and survivor collectives. Finally, law enforcement teams frequently misclassify trafficking cases as wage disputes or child labour issues, reducing survivors’ eligibility for compensation.
Scale of internal trafficking in persons
The Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT) identifies that over half to nearly two-thirds of all victims identified around the world were trafficked within national borders. The study finds that women are more often trafficked internally and are more vulnerable to sexual exploitation than men. Further, persons trafficked within national borders face higher rates of psychological, physical and sexual abuse (66%) and are more often forced to take psychoactive substances (20%) compared to internationally trafficked victims (48% and 2%, respectively). Persons trafficked within the borders of one country are mostly recruited by intimate partners (27%), family (25%), and friends/acquaintances (13%).
Read on
A study led by RMIT University highlights the critical role of accounting in addressing modern slavery risks in supply chains through risk-based due diligence, encompassing the identification, monitoring and mitigation of risks.
The Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre investigates how safehouse provision promotes recovery for survivors of modern slavery and human trafficking.
Dhaka University finds that child marriage is accelerating in parts of Bangladesh that face natural disasters.
Freedom Fund news
Child domestic work can amount to modern slavery when children are subjected to harmful conditions. Our Head of Programs, Africa, Ruth Kimani, joins one of our partners in Kenya to share how communities are challenging the norms that allow child domestic work to remain hidden. Find out more here.
Visit our Newsroom for more updates.
Research library
Visit our Slavery Research Library to access anti-slavery resources from across the globe.
Contact
Our team would love to hear from you. Email us at [email protected].
The Slavery Research Bulletin is produced monthly by the Freedom Fund, a global fund with the sole aim of helping end modern slavery.
Research being featured in this bulletin does not equal endorsement by the Freedom Fund.
Join the Slavery Research Bulletin mailing list.
Photo credit: Mãe D’Água Filmes/The Freedom Fund
