Addressing exploitation of labour migrants in Southeast Asia: Beyond a counter-trafficking criminal justice response

Large numbers of young people in Southeast Asia seek work opportunities outside their country of origin, migrating both regularly and irregularly, and with little power to access or negotiate safe and fair migration and work conditions. The risk of exploitation is high.The potential for human trafficking in these situations has attracted
significant attention. Yet much of the response by regional governments and international donors has focused on identifying and prosecuting ‘traffickers’ rather than addressing the many vulnerabilities and forms of exploitation that many labour migrants experience. This thematic brief sets out a diversity of forms of exploitation that labour migrants in Southeast Asia experience, and the implications for how efforts to respond might need to adapt. This includes broadening beyond the dominant frame of criminal justice in order to address exploitation at scale and in a manner that is realistic about the prevailing political economy.

Addressing exploitation of labour migrants in Southeast Asia: Beyond a counter-trafficking criminal justice response- Australian Aid, 2023 DOWNLOAD

Impacts of a lack of legal advice on adults with lived experience of modern slavery

News & AnalysisPublications

This project examined experiences of access to legal advice among adults with lived experience of modern slavery in the United Kingdom, as well as the impacts of a lack of access to (quality) legal advice on recovery, wellbeing and protection outcom...Read More

TAGS: Europe

THE ITSCI Laundromat: How a due diligence scheme appears to launder conflict minerals

News & Analysis

Minerals extracted by hand from the African Great Lakes region are in huge demand. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda produce nearly half the world’s coltan, the main ore of tantalum, as well as large amounts of tin and tungsten...Read More

TAGS: Due Diligence Extractives & Mining Africa

Scaling Impact: Tech Against Trafficking Launches Accelerator Program

News & Analysis

By: Hannah Darnton, Business for Social Responsibility There are few facets of modern life that are untouched by technology. Innovations in the industry have changed the way we communicate, the way we work, the way we conduct commerce, and the wa...Read More

TAGS: Information and Communications Technology Global

Harmful forms of child labour in India from a time-use perspective

News & Analysis

This paper explores the prevalence of child labour and long working hours in India using 2019 data, with estimates for boys and girls that deal with age-related child development concerns related to long hours of work. We use international suggestio...Read More

TAGS: Asia