Research & Publications

Free the Slaves engages in research to inform and enhance our understanding of the communities affected by modern slavery and guide our intervention programs, advocacy efforts, and collaborative partnerships, ensuring effective and targeted actions that are based on accurate data and analyses.

Research is an integral component of Free the Slaves’ Theory of Change. Our Research Program aims to generate evidence that will:

Guide our Programming

Helping us to design and implement anti-slavery programs that are accurately informed, locally based, and properly targeted, and therefore more effective in addressing the realities of modern slavery that affect vulnerable individuals and communities in determined geographies

Sustain our Advocacy Efforts

This enables us to develop and launch advocacy campaigns that are built on accurate data and solid analyses, and therefore capable of directing attention toward critical issues and suggesting realistic solutions

Expand our Partnerships

With academic institutions doing research on modern slavery and with local non-governmental organizations working to end modern slavery in their geographies.

Enhance our Understanding

Understanding the communities and geographies where we work. This knowledge helps us to always be sensitive, responsible, respectful, and responsive, and to always be true to our guiding values and principles

Man standing at the top of a mine shaft getting ready to climb down - depiction of where FTS does research on modern slavery

Our Approach to Research

At Free the Slaves, we are committed to produce research that is:

Participatory

Adopting a Participatory Action Research methodology, we empower slavery-affected communities and survivors of modern slavery to actively participate in the production of knowledge through a series of targeted approaches, trainings, and activities.

Community-Centered

Throughout all the phases of our research (development, implementation, dissemination), we have the communities’ interests as our priority, the community’s rights as our compass, and the communities’ benefit as our objective. The same principles guide our research projects with survivors of modern slavery. We refrain from engaging in research projects that fail to account for how they can benefit communities and survivors.

Impact-Oriented

We believe that the value of our research lies in its impact. Therefore, data collection and data analysis are always followed by the formulation of targeted and actionable recommendations. We also rely on the evidence generated through research to shape our programs accordingly.

Context Specific

We develop research projects that respond to the needs and realities of each specific context. While we recognize that modern slavery is a worldwide reality, we believe that its manifestations and its underlying causes are context-specific, and that they must be researched, understood, and addressed as such.

Ethical

Working closely with vulnerable individuals and communities who put their trust in us, we are profoundly committed to producing ethical and responsible research. In this regard, we have developed a Research Ethical Protocol and an Ethical Assessment Form that guide all our research.

Partnerships

Partnerships have always been a pillar of Free the Slaves’ work, and the Research Program is no exception. Believing that research can benefit immensely from cooperative efforts, Free the Slaves welcomes research partnerships with academic institutions, research centers, civil society, and non-governmental organizations. In this regard, we especially value cooperative research projects in which the unique expertise of each partner is allowed to shape and influence the project design, implementation, and dissemination. At Free the Slaves, we see community engagement and community participation as the main strength of our Research Program, and we are looking forward to working with partners who can complement our strength with theoretical and conceptual expertise.

At the very minimum, we are pursuing partnerships with institutions and organizations that share our same commitment to participatory, community- centered, and impact-oriented research.

If you are interested in exploring the possibility of a research partnership with us, please send us an email to: marta.furlan@freetheslaves.net

Research Agenda 2023-2024

The Research Agenda is a living document that Free the Slaves will update on a regular basis to reflect the progress of its ongoing and upcoming research projects.

Forced Labor
Sex Trafficking
Child Labor
Child Sexual Exploitation
Survivor Engagement
Indigenous People
Climage Change - Environmental Degradation
Refugees - Migrants
STATUS
Peru
Study Published in 2023
Dissemination through 2024
Philippines
Study Published in 2023
Dissemination through 2024
Central and East Africa

Ongoing


Estimated Publish Date in 2024

Yemen

Upcoming


Estimated Publish Date in 2024

Europe

Upcoming


Estimated Publish Date in 2024

Publications

Click the study title to learn more and get the download link.

Climate Change – Environmental Degradation & Modern Slavery

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Philippines: Human Trafficking and Climate Change: Understanding Intersections and Strengthening Responses in the Philippines

Human Trafficking and Climate Change: Understanding Intersections and Strengthening Responses in the Philippines contains findings from research by FTS and JPIC-IDC. The research examines the linkages between climate change, climate change-related hazards, and human trafficking in the regions of Eastern Visayas and Caraga (Eastern Philippines). The research finds that communities affected by climate change become exposed to the risk of exploitation by human traffickers. Exploitation can take different forms, but in Eastern Visayas and Caraga it is mostly labor trafficking and forced labor, child hazardous labor, sexual trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC), and online sexual exploitation of children (OSEC). Recognizing that natural hazards heighten the vulnerability of individuals and communities to exploitation by human traffickers, actions that address climate change-related vulnerabilities become a much-needed strategy to end the conditions that allow human trafficking to exist.

Download Full Report

Download Exec. Summary

Peru - Between Neglect and Exploitation: Four Case Studies in Indigenous Communities in the Peruvian Amazon

Between Neglect and Exploitation: Four Case Studies in Indigenous Communities of the Peruvian Amazon contains findings from research by FTS and ONOTZI, a Peruvian indigenous rights organization. The research examines the linkages between illegal extractivism, human trafficking risk, and environmental degredation in the Peruvian Amazon. The research points to the ways that human trafficking is driven by illegal mining and logging, and drug trafficking. Indigenous persons live in conditions that place them at a high risk of human trafficking. The research identifies diverse forms of modern slavery manifesting in communities. Adults work in conditions characteristic of forced labor and human trafficking for sexual and labor exploitation. Forced child marriages are normalized, and adolescents are also trafficked for labor and sexual exploitation. The report calls on the Peruvian state to implement a range of recommendations that address the root causes of human trafficking among indigenous communities and safeguards their human rights.

English Full Report
English Executive Summary
Informe completo en español
Resumen ejecutivo en español
Ashaninka Executive Summary
Ashaninka Full Report

Congo - Congo’s Mining Slaves: Enslavement at South Kivu Mining Sites

This Free the Slaves field investigation documents the types, nature, and scale of slavery at major mining sites in the South Kivu province. It also analyzes the factors that make Congolese workers vulnerable to enslavement and recommends solutions.

Full Report: English | French

Executive Summary: English | French

Ghana - Child Rights in Mining: Pilot Project Results & Lessons Learned

Gold mining is one of Ghana’s major industries—gold exports are one of the country’s biggest sources of income. But at many mining sites, children are exploited as workers. The Child Rights in Mining pilot project addressed the lack of awareness and protection of child rights, which cause hazardous child labor practices and sexual violence against children. Using illustrated drawings based on the lives of local residents, the project educated parents on the rights of children and how to protect them.

Full Report

Executive Summary: English | French

Nepal - Understanding Vulnerabilities and Strengthening Responses

Nepal’s 2015 earthquake killed thousands, left large parts of the country in ruins, and sparked a sharp rise in human trafficking. This action-research project documented the post-earthquake experience in Nepal, and provided essential action-step recommendations to ensure that desperate and vulnerable people aren’t enslaved in the aftermath of natural disasters around the globe.

Full Report 

Children & Modern Slavery

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Ghana - Trafficking's Footprint: Two-Phase Baseline Studies of Child Trafficking in 34 Communities in 6 Districts in Ghana

Child trafficking is widespread in Ghana – for fishing, mining, farming, domestic servitude and prostitution. Researchers uncover the prevalence and drivers of child trafficking in this report, and identify promising interventions designed to liberate victims, support survivors, and prevent future enslavement. 

Full report | Summary

Haiti - Haiti's Model Communities: Ending Restavek Child Domestic Servitude

Restavèk is a traditional system in which Haitian children are sent to live with other families and work as domestic servants. The expectation is for the host family to provide schooling, food, and shelter. Yet many children are abused and enslaved in their new homes. The Model Communities project is based on the premise that building community consensus against >restavèk is a strong strategy to prevent and reverse the flow of children into domestic servitude. 

Full Report: English |French

Executive Summary: English|French

Ghana - Child Rights in Mining: Pilot Project Results & Lessons Learned
Gold mining is one of Ghana’s major industries—gold exports are one of the country’s biggest sources of income. But at many mining sites, children are exploited as workers. The Child Rights in Mining pilot project addressed the lack of awareness and protection of child rights, which cause hazardous child labor practices and sexual violence against children. Using illustrated drawings based on the lives of local residents, the project educated parents on the rights of children and how to protect them.

Full Report

Executive Summary: English | French

India - Recovering Childhoods: Combating Child Trafficking in Northern India
This report investigates the problem of—and solutions to—child trafficking in northern India. We highlight some of the stark realities that underpin trafficking today, and some recommendations for bringing it to an end. We are clear that child trafficking is not an intractable problem, but it is one that deserves and requires focused and well-informed long-term strategies.  

Download

Women & Modern Slavery

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Congo - Wives in Slavery: Forced Marriage in the Congo
Every person has the right to freely choose his or her spouse. But for many women and girls in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, marriage is coerced and a form of slavery. This exposè examines the causes and impacts of forced marriage in the Congo through the stories of women and girls who have experienced it firsthand. 

Full Report: English | French

Executive Summary: English | French

Civil Society & Modern Slavery

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SE Asia - Learning From NGO's Approaches to Modern Slavery

FTS’ recent report “Learning from NGOs’ Approaches to Modern Slavery in Southeast Asia” highlights findings learning from 64 surveys with representatives of organizations addressing modern slavery in Southeast Asia. Read more below to understand how organizations are defining modern slavery, the approaches that are being adopted, and the activities implemented to address severe exploitation. The report also highlights some of the existing gaps affecting the response and provides recommendations for improved multi-stakeholder action against modern slavery.

Download Full Report

Download Executive Summary

Operationalizing the Movement Behind SDG 8.7
Civil society plays a critical role in raising awareness, advocating with governments to take robust action and developing new interventions to disrupt slavery and aid its survivors. This study, co-authored by Deloitte and Free the Slaves, explores the goals, norms and policy priorities for civil society coalitions within the anti-slavery movement. 

Full Report

MENA - Modern Slavery in the Middle East & North Africa
As part of its regional strategy to eradicate modern slavery in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), FTS launched a small-scale research study to better understand the anti-modern slavery landscape in the region. The findings will provide organizations like FTS with an indication of the current state of knowledge and approaches of civil society organizations regarding modern slavery. These can in turn inform programmatic strategies in the region and ensure that anti-modern slavery ventures correspond with current approaches while addressing existing gaps, furthering capacities to address the issue, and driving the anti-modern slavery movement at the regional level. 

Download

Covid-19 – Health Emergencies & Modern Slavery

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Senegal and Kenya - Building Resilience Against Exploitation in Senegal and Kenya in the Context of Covid-19

This study highlights how systemic factors that contribute to resilience against exploitation are being impacted by Covid-19 in urban centers within Senegal and Kenya. The research provides evidence toward effective targeting, adaptation and implementation of anti-slavery interventions in the wake of Covid-19. It offers suggestions on how to limit negative impacts arising from the pandemic and where to direct policy, practice and funding attention for ongoing benefit. Research conducted and published in 2021 in partnership with the University of Nottingham Rights Lab.

Summary English
Kenya Report English
Senegal Report EnglishFrench
Comparative Report EnglishFrench

Indigenous Communities & Modern Slavery

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Peru - Between Neglect and Exploitation: Four Case Studies in Indigenous Communities in the Peruvian Amazon

Between Neglect and Exploitation: Four Case Studies in Indigenous Communities of the Peruvian Amazon contains findings from research by FTS and ONOTZI, a Peruvian indigenous rights organization. The research examines the linkages between illegal extractivism, human trafficking risk, and climate change in the Peruvian Amazon. The research points to the ways that human trafficking is driven by illegal mining and logging, and drug trafficking. Indigenous persons live in conditions that place them at a high risk of human trafficking. The research identifies diverse forms of modern slavery manifesting in communities. Adults work in conditions characteristic of forced labor and human trafficking for sexual and labor exploitation. Forced child marriages are normalized, and adolescents are also trafficked for labor and sexual exploitation. The report calls on the Peruvian state to implement a range of recommendations that address the root causes of human trafficking among indigenous communities and safeguards their human rights.

English Full Report
English Executive Summary
Informe completo en español
Resumen ejecutivo en español
Ashaninka Executive Summary
Ashaninka Full Report

Informal Economies & Modern Slavery

Blank
Peru - Between Neglect and Exploitation: Four Case Studies in Indigenous Communities in the Peruvian Amazon

Between Neglect and Exploitation: Four Case Studies in Indigenous Communities of the Peruvian Amazon contains findings from research by FTS and ONOTZI, a Peruvian indigenous rights organization. The research examines the linkages between illegal extractivism, human trafficking risk, and climate change in the Peruvian Amazon. The research points to the ways that human trafficking is driven by illegal mining and logging, and drug trafficking. Indigenous persons live in conditions that place them at a high risk of human trafficking. The research identifies diverse forms of modern slavery manifesting in communities. Adults work in conditions characteristic of forced labor and human trafficking for sexual and labor exploitation. Forced child marriages are normalized, and adolescents are also trafficked for labor and sexual exploitation. The report calls on the Peruvian state to implement a range of recommendations that address the root causes of human trafficking among indigenous communities and safeguards their human rights.

English Full Report
English Executive Summary
Informe completo en español
Resumen ejecutivo en español
Ashaninka Executive Summary
Ashaninka Full Report

Congo - Congo’s Mining Slaves: Enslavement at South Kivu Mining Sites

This Free the Slaves field investigation documents the types, nature, and scale of slavery at major mining sites in the South Kivu province. It also analyzes the factors that make Congolese workers vulnerable to enslavement and recommends solutions. 

Full Report: English | French 

Executive Summary: English | French

Africa

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From Illegal Migration to Human Trafficking: Dangerous Journeys Across the Horn of Africa and The Arabian Peninsula

The journey from the Horn of Africa through Yemen to the Arab Gulf accounts for 40% of all migratory movements worldwide and has seen a constant increase over the past few years. In 2023, with 86,630 people migrated to Yemen from the beginning of January to the end of July.

East African migrants seek to reach the Arabian Peninsula due to:

  • poverty
  • climate change
  • food and water isecurity
  • conflict
  • ethnically motivated violence

Many of those migratory flows between the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula are illegal in character, taking place beyond the routes and mechanisms allowed by countries of destination and countries of origin. The reasons why many migrants have been choosing irregular channels of migration are mainly connected to the limited options for regular migration as well as the administrative challenges associated with those few options.

Illegal migrants from the Horn of Africa typically rely on smugglers to make their journey towards the Arabian Peninsula. As they do so, they become particularly vulnerable to human trafficking. Significantly, exposure to the risk of trafficking is observed at three distinct moments along the journey – when transiting through Djibouti and Somalia before crossing the Gulf of Aden, when transiting through Yemen upon disembarking in the Arabian Peninsula, when arriving in the rich Gulf monarchies, especially Saudi Arabia.

The forms of trafficking most commonly observed along the Eastern Route include:

  • sex trafficking & commercial sexual exploitation
  • forced labor and hazardous forced labor (e.g., in construction)
  • domestic servitude
  • debt bondage
  • worst forms of child labor, including forced street begging and sexual exploitation
  • forced criminality

Download the Full Report

Congo - Congo’s Mining Slaves: Enslavement at South Kivu Mining Sites

This Free the Slaves field investigation documents the types, nature, and scale of slavery at major mining sites in the South Kivu province. It also analyzes the factors that make Congolese workers vulnerable to enslavement and recommends solutions. 

Full Report: English | French

Executive Summary: English | French

Ghana - Child Rights in Mining: Pilot Project Results & Lessons Learned

Gold mining is one of Ghana’s major industries—gold exports are one of the country’s biggest sources of income. But at many mining sites, children are exploited as workers. The Child Rights in Mining pilot project addressed the lack of awareness and protection of child rights, which cause hazardous child labor practices and sexual violence against children. Using illustrated drawings based on the lives of local residents, the project educated parents on the rights of children and how to protect them. 

Full Report 

Executive Summary: English | French

Congo - Wives in Slavery: Forced Marriage in the Congo

Every person has the right to freely choose his or her spouse. But for many women and girls in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, marriage is coerced and a form of slavery. This exposè examines the causes and impacts of forced marriage in the Congo through the stories of women and girls who have experienced it firsthand. 

Full Report: English | French

Executive Summary: English | French

Ghana - Trafficking's Footprint: Two-Phase Baseline Studies of Child Trafficking in 34 Communities in 6 Districts in Ghana
Child trafficking is widespread in Ghana – for fishing, mining, farming, domestic servitude and prostitution. Researchers uncover the prevalence and drivers of child trafficking in this report, and identify promising interventions designed to liberate victims, support survivors, and prevent future enslavement. 

Full report | Summary

Senegal and Kenya - Building Resilience Against Exploitation in Senegal and Kenya in the Context of Covid-19

This study highlights how systemic factors that contribute to resilience against exploitation are being impacted by Covid-19 in urban centers within Senegal and Kenya. The research provides evidence toward effective targeting, adaptation and implementation of anti-slavery interventions in the wake of Covid-19. It offers suggestions on how to limit negative impacts arising from the pandemic and where to direct policy, practice and funding attention for ongoing benefit. Research conducted and published in 2021 in partnership with the University of Nottingham Rights Lab.

Summary English
Kenya Report English
Senegal Report EnglishFrench
Comparative Report EnglishFrench

Asia

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Philippines: Human Trafficking and Climate Change: Understanding Intersections and Strengthening Responses in the Philippines

Human Trafficking and Climate Change: Understanding Intersections and Strengthening Responses in the Philippines contains findings from research by FTS and JPIC-IDC. The research examines the linkages between climate change, climate change-related hazards, and human trafficking in the regions of Eastern Visayas and Caraga (Eastern Philippines). The research finds that communities affected by climate change become exposed to the risk of exploitation by human traffickers. Exploitation can take different forms, but in Eastern Visayas and Caraga it is mostly labor trafficking and forced labor, child hazardous labor, sexual trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC), and online sexual exploitation of children (OSEC). Recognizing that natural hazards heighten the vulnerability of individuals and communities to exploitation by human traffickers, actions that address climate change-related vulnerabilities become a much-needed strategy to end the conditions that allow human trafficking to exist.

Download Full Report

Download Exec. Summary

India - Recovering Childhoods: Combating Child Trafficking in Northern India
This report investigates the problem of—and solutions to—child trafficking in northern India. We highlight some of the stark realities that underpin trafficking today, and some recommendations for bringing it to an end. We are clear that child trafficking is not an intractable problem, but it is one that deserves and requires focused and well-informed long-term strategies.

Download

Nepal - Understanding Vulnerabilities & Strengthening Response

Nepal’s 2015 earthquake killed thousands, left large parts of the country in ruins, and sparked a sharp rise in human trafficking. This action-research project documented the post-earthquake experience in Nepal, and provided essential action-step recommendations to ensure that desperate and vulnerable people aren’t enslaved in the aftermath of natural disasters around the globe. 

Full Report

SE Asia - Learning From NGO's Approaches to Modern Slavery in South-East Asia

FTS’ recent report “Learning from NGOs’ Approaches to Modern Slavery in Southeast Asia” highlights findings learning from 64 surveys with representatives of organizations addressing modern slavery in Southeast Asia. Read more below to understand how organizations are defining modern slavery, the approaches that are being adopted, and the activities implemented to address severe exploitation. The report also highlights some of the existing gaps affecting the response and provides recommendations for improved multi-stakeholder action against modern slavery.

Download Full Report

Download Executive Summary

Latin America

Blank
Peru - Between Neglect and Exploitation: Four Case Studies in Indigenous Communities in the Peruvian Amazon

Between Neglect and Exploitation: Four Case Studies in Indigenous Communities of the Peruvian Amazon contains findings from research by FTS and ONOTZI, a Peruvian indigenous rights organization. The research examines the linkages between illegal extractivism, human trafficking risk, and climate change in the Peruvian Amazon. The research points to the ways that human trafficking is driven by illegal mining and logging, and drug trafficking. Indigenous persons live in conditions that place them at a high risk of human trafficking. The research identifies diverse forms of modern slavery manifesting in communities. Adults work in conditions characteristic of forced labor and human trafficking for sexual and labor exploitation. Forced child marriages are normalized, and adolescents are also trafficked for labor and sexual exploitation. The report calls on the Peruvian state to implement a range of recommendations that address the root causes of human trafficking among indigenous communities and safeguards their human rights.

English Full Report
English Executive Summary
Informe completo en español
Resumen ejecutivo en español
Ashaninka Executive Summary
Ashaninka Full Report

MENA

Blank
From Illegal Migration to Human Trafficking: Dangerous Journeys Across the Horn of Africa and The Arabian Peninsula

The journey from the Horn of Africa through Yemen to the Arab Gulf accounts for 40% of all migratory movements worldwide and has seen a constant increase over the past few years. In 2023, with 86,630 people migrated to Yemen from the beginning of January to the end of July.

East African migrants seek to reach the Arabian Peninsula due to:

  • poverty
  • climate change
  • food and water isecurity
  • conflict
  • ethnically motivated violence

Many of those migratory flows between the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula are illegal in character, taking place beyond the routes and mechanisms allowed by countries of destination and countries of origin. The reasons why many migrants have been choosing irregular channels of migration are mainly connected to the limited options for regular migration as well as the administrative challenges associated with those few options.

Illegal migrants from the Horn of Africa typically rely on smugglers to make their journey towards the Arabian Peninsula. As they do so, they become particularly vulnerable to human trafficking. Significantly, exposure to the risk of trafficking is observed at three distinct moments along the journey – when transiting through Djibouti and Somalia before crossing the Gulf of Aden, when transiting through Yemen upon disembarking in the Arabian Peninsula, when arriving in the rich Gulf monarchies, especially Saudi Arabia.

The forms of trafficking most commonly observed along the Eastern Route include:

  • sex trafficking & commercial sexual exploitation
  • forced labor and hazardous forced labor (e.g., in construction)
  • domestic servitude
  • debt bondage
  • worst forms of child labor, including forced street begging and sexual exploitation
  • forced criminality

Download the Full Report

MENA - Modern Slavery in the Middle East & North Africa
As part of its regional strategy to eradicate modern slavery in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), FTS launched a small-scale research study to better understand the anti-modern slavery landscape in the region. The findings will provide organizations like FTS with an indication of the current state of knowledge and approaches of civil society organizations regarding  modern slavery. These can in turn inform programmatic strategies in the region and ensure that anti-modern slavery ventures correspond with current approaches while addressing existing gaps, furthering capacities to address the issue, and driving the anti-modern slavery movement at the regional level. 

Download

Caribbean

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Haiti - Haiti's Moden Communities: Ending Restavek Child Domestic Servitude
Restavèkis a traditional system in which Haitian children are sent to live with other families and work as domestic servants. The expectation is for the host family to provide schooling, food, and shelter. Yet many children are abused and enslaved in their new homes. The Model Communities project is based on the premise that building community consensus against restavèk is a strong strategy to prevent and reverse the flow of children into domestic servitude. 

Full Report: English | French 

Executive Summary: English | French

Free the Slaves stands as a beacon of rigorous, ethical, and community-centered research in the fight against modern slavery. Our multifaceted Research Program is designed to inform not just our actions but also our advocacy and partnerships. By adopting a participatory approach that respects the unique conditions and challenges of each community, we generate actionable insights to combat slavery more effectively.

Additional Resources

International Anti-Trafficking and Anti-Modern Slavery Policy Resources

Click for PDF

United Nations – Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime Nations

Click for PDF

United Nations – Abolishing Slavery and its Contemporary Forms

Click for PDF

ILO – Anti-Trafficking Laws, Policies, and Practices

Click for PDF

African Union – Draft Ten Year Action Plan on Eradication of Child Labour, Forced Labour, Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery in Africa (2020-2030)

Click for PDF

European Union – Directive on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting its Victims

United States Anti-Trafficking and Anti-Modern Slavery Policy Resources

Click for PDF

US Justice Department – National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking

Click for PDF

United States of America – National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking

Click for PDF

United States of America – Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000

Notes From the Field

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