Welcome to the Freedom Fund’s monthly bulletin designed to bring you new and compelling research from the global anti-slavery movement.
Trafficking in Persons Report by the U.S. Department of State
The 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report focuses on the importance of providing secure housing, legal aid, social support and witness protection for survivors through formal frameworks and partnerships with civil society and survivor leaders. It discusses the evolving role of artificial intelligence in detecting and educating harmful activities, as well as its use in large-scale victim recruitment through language models and data-driven decision-making. The report emphasises the issue of forced labour in global fisheries and calls for workers’ rights to freedom of association.
The current state of violence against women and children in Uganda
International Justice Mission shares new insights into the prevalence of sexual violence against children and intimate partner violence (IPV) in Uganda. The study surveyed 3,351 individuals (2,225 women and 1,126 boys and girls) and was complemented by 68 stakeholder interviews. The findings reveal that 77% of girls and 24% of boys have experienced at least one incident of sexual violence. Fifty-five percent of women reported experiencing IPV. However, less than one-third of respondents said they would be willing to report or use services for survivors of violence against women and children. Further, 84% of stakeholders interviewed believe that the criminal justice system across all institutions is not fair.
A new report on the links between climate impacts and child and forced labour in Nepal
GoodWeave International and New ERA investigate the links between climate change and the risks of child labour and forced labour in Nepal’s carpet and brick sectors. Based on 30 years of climate trends and 1,023 interviews, the study finds that prolonged droughts, insect infestations, floods and landslides are the most impactful climate events, influencing 35% of respondents’ decisions to work or have their children work in the relevant sectors. Nearly all respondents reported economic hardship due to climate events, including reduced agricultural production (91%); lost income (80%); and lost farmland (46%). Households that incurred climate-related debt or had run out of food in the prior year were also more likely to migrate.
Lived experience expertise improves accuracy in analysing human trafficking data
A study led by Clemson University calls for the inclusion of lived experience experts in developing computational models for sex trafficking research. Drawing on the expertise of a team comprising three industrial engineers, two social scientists and five survivor-centred researchers, the study presents two operation research computational models, one capturing how situations change over time and another illustrating the control that traffickers have over their victims. The study identifies four key areas where lived experience expertise is essential: conceptualisation, modelling assumptions, data collection, and interpretation and dissemination.
Modern slavery risks in the hospitality sector in UK
Unseen UK offers insights into the scale of exploitation experienced by migrant workers in the UK’s hospitality sector. Drawing on reports made to the Helpline from January 2024 to June 2025, the findings reveal that migrant workers were lured with promises of high salaries and entered the UK on skilled worker visas, only to be forced into low-paid hospitality roles. Many were made to work off their debt through withheld wages, unpaid overtime, or by being trapped in their roles due to excessive exit fees. It highlights that there was an increase from just four reported cases in 2022 to 75 in 2024, and 49 in the first six months of 2025, which the authors conclude signals a likely increase in modern slavery cases in the sector over time.
Read on
Toronto Metropolitan University examines Nepal’s migration policy and reveals barriers to the Nepali state’s ability to fight for the justice and rights of women migrants in the Gulf countries.
The People’s Police Academy and Auckland University of Technology lead a study that explores the experiences of trafficked women from Vietnam and calls for gender-sensitive and trauma-informed interventions.
Mekelle University documents the pervasive exploitation of adolescent and young adult domestic workers in Ethiopia, who face excessive workloads without adequate rest or breaks.
Freedom Fund news
Environmental defenders not only protect ecosystems, they also expose modern slavery and confront corruption. Read the full article by the Freedom Fund’s Dr. Xanthe Scharff via Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
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Research library
Visit our Slavery Research Library to access anti-slavery resources from across the globe.
Contact
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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: Geneva Global/Jenna Mulhall-Brereton
