Policy & Research

In 2020 the UN declared that, ‘Trafficking in persons remains one of the largest human rights violations exacerbated in times of crises where the humanitarian community does not have a predictable, at-scale way to respond.’ Today – when the world is experiencing multiple crises with devastating humanitarian consequences, and a…

While rapid growth in Internet connectivity and technological innovation has brought children around the world increased opportunities for educational and social development, it has also made them vulnerable to online sexual abuse and exploitation (OSAEC). Vulnerability to OSAEC has only heightened throughout the COVID19 lockdown, with foreign customers and local facilitators enjoying an unprecedented level…

Rapid technological change has provided exponential growth of internet connectivity worldwide, ready access to advanced technology and online payment mechanisms, and opportunities to operate online with anonymity. In many countries, protections for vulnerable children from related harms have not kept pace with these advancements, resulting in an epidemic of cases…

Forced scamming has emerged in the last few years as a new form of modern slavery. In the post-pandemic landscape, hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world have been lured to scamming compounds in Southeast Asia and Africa via false job advertisements. Upon their arrival, the victims…

Labour migration is a key driver of the growth in international migration flows. While migrant workers contribute to the economic development of both their origin and host societies, the characteristics of labour migrants, the predominance of temporary migration cycles and the prevalence of fraudulent practices in the overseas labour recruitment…

Climate change and armed conflict are becoming increasingly important drivers of internal displacement and cross-national migratory flows. Individuals displaced due to environmental disasters and conflict lack family and community networks in their new destinations, have limited opportunities for employment and income generation, and limited access to legal and labour protection.

This paper calls for new momentum in the fight against modern slavery happening in communities across Britain. Building on earlier research by the Modern Slavery Policy Unit, the paper urges the Government to introduce the proposed new modern slavery bill and recommends four areas to strengthen the modern slavery system…

Large-scale migration is one of the key global economic, political and security challenges of the twenty-first century, with migrants and displaced persons reaching unprecedented levels in recent years. While the role of push and pull factors is well recognised, the underlying characteristics that render migrants vulnerable to modern slavery victimisation are…

Although the drivers and consequences of forced marriage are correlated with those of modern slavery, there is little consensus regarding whether and to what extent the two phenomena intersect.

The globalisation of supply chains has contributed to a deterioration of labour standards worldwide, exacerbating workers’ vulnerability to modern slavery and human trafficking. Governments, private actors and worker organisations have adopted a variety of approaches aimed at tackling modern slavery in supply chains. However, available evidence on their effectiveness is still scarce, and our understanding of “what works” remains limited.