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The Slavery Research Bulletin: Issue 21, May 2017

Bulletin
May 15, 2017

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.

Half of migrants crossing the Mediterranean experienced trafficking

A survey of 2,387 migrants and refugees who crossed the Mediterranean heading for Europe reveals that one-in-two experienced human trafficking (as opposed to smuggling) and other exploitative practices on their journey. The survey, conducted by the International Organisation for Migration, also finds that 37 percent of all migrants interviewed have been held captive and 23 percent forced to work against their will.

80 percent of children in Yemen need humanitarian assistance

A report by UNICEF details the catastrophic effects of Yemen’s civil war on the country’s children. Nearly 10 million children are in need of humanitarian assistance, with half a million suffering from severe acute malnutrition. Across Yemen, families are resorting to extreme survival measures: children are recruited to fight at an ever younger age, and more than two thirds of girls are married before they reach 18.

Reintegration services informed by trafficking survivors

A new guidebook released by Nexus Institute, UN-ACT and World Vision offers practical tools for service providers in South-East Asia who support the reintegration of trafficking victims. Based on the experiences of over 250 survivors who were exploited for sexual exploitation, labour and forced marriage, the guidebook is intended for those seeking to design and improve their reintegration programs.

One in five homeless youth in U.S. and Canada are trafficking victims 

Homeless youth in North America are vulnerable to both sex and labour trafficking, with 19 percent being identified as victims of some form of human trafficking, according to a study by the Loyola University of New Orleans and Covenant House International. Of the 641 youth interviewed at homeless shelters, more than 14 percent had been trafficked for sex, while 8 percent had been trafficked for forced labour.

Is anti-trafficking work based on good evidence?

The latest issue of the Anti-Trafficking Review explores the role of evidence, research and data in anti-trafficking work. The authors argue that a great deal of anti-trafficking work appears to be based on assumptions that are not well-proven and rest on thin, if any, evidence.

Read on…

  • Know the Chain has summarised the findings from its three benchmark studies of 60 global companies from three sectors with the highest risk of forced labour.
  • A new toolkit by the Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons offers guidance in designing and evaluating counter-trafficking programs.
  • The University of Nottingham is launching an online course taught by Professor Kevin Bales about modern slavery and strategies for contemporary global abolition.

And finally

The Freedom Fund is proud to release our 2016 Annual Impact Report. Last year our partners liberated 4,225 people and had significant impact on the systems that allow this crime to persist.


News & updates

For more news and updates about the Freedom Fund, visit our Newsroom. You can also view archived issues of our bulletin here.

Contact us

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[email protected]

Photo credit: Jenna Mulhall-Brereton/Geneva Global

Written by
The Freedom Fund