Welcome to the Freedom Fund’s monthly bulletin designed to bring you new and compelling research from the global anti-slavery movement.
The state of evidence on immigration policy and modern slavery/human trafficking
University of Nottingham Rights Lab explores reports and legislative documents related to immigration policy and modern slavery/human trafficking (MS/HT). Framing MS/HT as a migration and security issue has lead to punitive border regulation and criminalisation of movement. The findings reveal that the reluctance of states to facilitate unskilled migration facilitates the production of recruitment agencies and provides an opportunity for less scrupulous actors to benefit. Fear of authorities among migrants, legal exceptions for domestic workers and the targeting of particular populations increase opportunities for exploitation. Based on this, the authors include a compelling recommendation to focus on structural factors in immigration.
Lessons and reflections on evaluating anti-trafficking interventions
A multi-institutional team of global researchers publish an open-access volume on the process of evaluating the impact of anti-trafficking programmes, particularly in assessing the ethics and effectiveness of interventions. The book presents a range of factors influencing reliable primary evaluations, including political constraints, difficulties in attributing impacts, aversion to uncovering unwanted findings and that evaluation can be seen as a top-down imposition on the conceptualisation of success. Authors highlight the importance of inclusive conceptualisations of evidence and listening to and learning from affected populations, notably survivors and those negatively impacted by anti-trafficking interventions.
Stakeholders’ perspectives on addressing forced labour in Thai seafood and fishing industries
Humanity United and Policy Solve jointly offer insights into efforts made in addressing forced labour and human trafficking in Thailand’s seafood and fishing industries over the past ten years. Through causal mapping, stakeholder interviews, and focus group discussions, the study identifies improvements in labour practices, including workers’ access to identity documents, better wages, contracts and reduced experiences of violence. The study finds that pressure from both global media and European Union and U.S. bilateral relationships has driven significant policy changes, whereas victim identification during port inspection, hidden costs associated with recruitment and the continued confiscation of documents by vessel owners are persistent challenges to the rights and safety of workers.
Vietnamese trafficked women experience forced pregnancy and prolonged exploitation
The People’s Police Academy and Auckland University of Technology lead a study that explores the experiences of Vietnamese women whose lived experience of trafficking involved rape, forced pregnancy and prolonged exploitation. A literature review and series of 23 interviews with frontline workers find that the most vulnerable group is women aged 19 to 25 years, of whom the majority are lured by traffickers with promises of work or marriage. The study highlights the conflicts and difficulties faced by women trying to escape when they may be simultaneously experiencing maternal devotion following forced pregnancies and childbirth. Loss of cultural identity and reintegration challenges were reported by those who were trafficked at a young age and experienced prolonged periods of exploitation.
Improving labour conditions in global supply chains requires engagement with stakeholders
University of Bath critically analyses the two main strategies of multinational companies for improved working conditions within global supply chains. A comprehensive literature review identifies compliance-based and relationship-driven approaches and highlights limitations to the effectiveness of those strategies. Challenges with the compliance-based approach, such as advance notice of inspection that allows factories to clean up, keep double records or coach workers to give the answers; relationship-driven approaches may exclude lower-tier suppliers where the worst abuses occur. The study calls for engaging stakeholders such as NGOs, unions, workers, lower-tier subcontractors and labour recruiters.
Read on
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Girl Determined report on the prevalence of parent- or caregiver-perpetrated violence against adolescent girls in conflict-affected Myanmar
University of Würzburg leads a comparative analysis of food delivery workers’ struggles using different power resources in Norway and Germany.
Addis Ababa University presents on the burden of pulmonary tuberculosis among Ethiopians emigrating to the Middle East for domestic work.
Freedom Fund news
In 2025, the Freedom Fund generated credible evidence to advance the global fight against modern slavery. Each report adds to the growing body of knowledge on what works. All reports are available on our website here.
Visit our Newsroom for more updates.
Research library
Visit our Slavery Research Library to access anti-slavery resources from across the globe.
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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: Filmatory Nepal/The Freedom Fund
