Welcome to the Freedom Fund’s monthly bulletin designed to bring you new and compelling research from the global anti-slavery movement.
Ending agricultural bonded labour in Nepal
The Freedom Fund and Progress Inc. report on the outcome of the Freedom Fund’s program addressing bounded labour issues in Nepal. The evaluation engaged over 370 survivors and other affected community members, as well as government officials. It found consensus that the program achieved its aim of unifying the Haliya, Harawa-Charawa, and Kamaiya when the groups determined to form the Joint Struggle Committee. This collective national advocacy effort directly contributed to the Government of Nepal’s declaration of liberation for the Harawa-Charawa and enhanced the resilience of agricultural bonded labourers through facilitating access to citizenship and other documentation that will allow survivors to apply for government resources.
The 2024 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons marks a sharp increase in victims
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reports a 25% global increase in detected victims in 2022 compared to 2019. Based on the analysis of official statistics from 156 countries and 1038 court cases, rising trends were indicated for forced labour, forced criminality and child trafficking. Among the 74,785 victims identified globally, 38% were children (22% of whom were girls, often trafficked for sexual exploitation). The report highlights that 8% of the victims were trafficked for forced criminality, particularly in online scams in Southeast Asia. The highest proportion (42%) of victims were trafficked for forced labour (20% of whom were children), with a noted rise in the number of international trafficking routes.
Global review of forced marriage in domestic law
University of Nottingham Rights Lab examines how forced marriage is addressed in domestic law of all 193 UN Member States. The study reviews over 550 domestic statutes, along with over 1,500 individual legislative provisions and relevant practices considered in international law. The findings reveal that 81% of the States have some form of legislative provision addressing forced marriage. Of these, 53% of the States have provisions protecting consent to marriage, while only 3% of States have provisions prohibiting forced marriage. The evidence suggests that almost all States have a minimum age for marriage provision and terms such as the use of force to enter marriage and the maintenance of marriage, deception, and fraud are commonly referenced in domestic law.
2024 Modern Slavery UK Benchmark
CCLA publishes a modern slavery benchmark score for the largest UK-listed companies, corresponding to the UK’s Modern Slavery Act 2015, the UK Home Office Guidance, and international standards on business and human rights. Through an analysis of the 2023 public modern slavery statements of the top 110 companies, representing 11 industry sectors and £2 trillion market capitalisation, the benchmark shows that 65 companies, particularly in consumer staples and financial sectors, improved their scores. Additionally, 30 companies disclosed finding a case of modern slavery, up from 25 in 2023. However, actions taken to remedy cases of modern slavery scored the lowest.
Current approach to impact evaluation in the U.S anti-trafficking non-profit sector
Impact Rising offers insights into impact evaluation practices of 94 U.S-based nonprofits dedicated to addressing human trafficking. The study found that, on average, organisations allocate 4% of their budgets to impact evaluation, but smaller organisations in particular report gaps in staffing and technology access that reduce their ability to conduct evaluations. The findings reveal that one in eight of the surveyed organisations were led by a person with lived experience. Among other identified gaps, the study highlighted the lack of shared language and definitions of “impact” within the sector that reduce opportunities for collective efforts.
Read on
Modern Slavery and Human Rights, Policy and Evidence Centre offers a synthesis of studies commissioned by the Centre on adult exploitation and trafficking, identifying the gaps in the evidence base.
Researchers at Erasmus University of Rotterdam, the Netherlands identify human trafficking as one type of vulnerability that can be linked to war and postwar transitions.
The University of Derby examines media and political discourses of modern slavery in the UK and identifies that discourses cast migrants as the source of social harm.
Freedom Fund news
Without due diligence and human rights assessments in supply chains, our materials and products are tainted with forced labour. The Freedom Fund was featured in Moody’s 2024 docuseries on financial crime: watch it here.
Visit our Newsroom for more updates.
Research library
Visit our Slavery Research Library to access anti-slavery resources from across the globe.
Contact
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.
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Photo credit: Rhett Ayers Butler / Adobe Stock
