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.
The human cost of fast fashion
A new report by the UK House of Commons analyses the social and environmental cost of the fashion industry, in which over 90 percent of the global garment industry workers have no possibility to negotiate conditions or wages. The report notes that women and girls face the brunt of the exploitation in the industry, whereas the majority of fashion CEOs are men.
Widespread labour abuses found in Vietnam’s garment sector
A rapid assessment of labour conditions in Vietnam’s garment sector by Anti-Slavery International highlights the risk of forced labour, child labour and child slavery. Interviews with 21 workers across three Tier-1 factories reveal a lack of institutional protection of their rights at work.
Human trafficking from Myanmar and Bangladesh to Malaysia
A report by Fortify Rights and the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia documents how a transnational criminal syndicate preyed on Rohingya refugees, deceiving them into boarding ships supposedly bound for Malaysia and holding them at sea or in human trafficking camps. It is estimated that between $50 to 100 million is generated annually by the criminal syndicate.
Is regular migration safer migration?
Based on data collected from over 1,400 Cambodian, Burmese, Laotian, and Vietnamese labour migrants recently returned from Thailand, an article in the Journal on Migration and Human Security questions whether regular, legal migration is actually safer for migrants than illegal migration. It finds that regular migrants are more likely to experience abuse in the migration process and their worksites.
Exploring the health needs of human trafficking survivors
A special issue of Social Dialogue magazine focuses on human trafficking and modern slavery, with features on the mental health needs of trafficking victims and technology solutions to address trafficking in the construction industry.
Read on…
- A report by Human Rights Watch documents the selling by traffickers of women and girls from Myanmar into sexual slavery in China.
- A working paper by the University of Adelaide examines whether a subsidised rice program can keep children out of work and in school in Indonesia.
- A study by Restore NYC focuses on survivors of cross-border trafficking living in New York City and their experience accessing healthcare.
And finally…
A new interactive data visualisation tool by the UN University Centre for Policy Research illustrates how modern slavery has evolved over time.
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