Uzbekistan has embarked on major reforms and increased diplomatic engagement since Shavkat Mirziyoyev took over as president. Yet, [...]
Source: Open Democracy
Misusing the term “sex trafficking” doesn’t help prevent exploitation
In an opinion piece published by openDemocracy this week, Ben Chapman-Schmidt addresses the use, and misuse, of the term ‘sex [...]
Imagining a world beyond borders
Borders no longer exist only along the confines of a territory – they are now embedded in our societies, rearing their head every time [...]
Opinion: There is No “Race to the Bottom”
It has become increasingly common to talk about a “race to the bottom” when it comes to the erosion of workers’ [...]
Atlanta Asian massage parlor murders are a warning to the anti-trafficking sector
UK Modern Slavery Act: Putting Saviors Before the Saved?
This past week the UK Modern Slavery Act turned four years old. Yet while the government has spent upwards of £100 million to tackle [...]
Interview: Why does Freedom United use the term ‘modern slavery’?
Talking Trafficking With Jamaican Sex Workers
Sex workers in Jamaica face more violence from clients and the police than traffickers, but addressing this problem is one too [...]
India’s new trafficking bill undermines labor rights
India’s newly proposed Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Care and Rehabilitation) Bill 2021 is coming under fire for its lack [...]
The Two-Fronted Fight of Sex Workers Against Trafficking
Sex workers are in a difficult position, fighting both exploitation in the sex industry and misguided policies that are supposed to [...]
Freedom United on sex work & building resilience to trafficking
Freedom United’s Executive Director, Joanna Ewart-James, explains why Freedom United supports the full decriminalization of sex [...]
Beyond Survival to End Domestic Trafficking
This articles argues that we must look beyond survival to end domestic trafficking. Ending labour trafficking requires us to elevate [...]
International law on organized crime key in tackling human trafficking
Long-standing debates within the counter-trafficking and counter-smuggling space have focused on the ineffectiveness around the [...]
Why Freedom United supports the decriminalisation of sex work
Slavery Proposal in Australia Lacks Due Diligence
Komala Ramachandra, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, reports that Australia’s justice minister proposed a new legislation in August [...]
Ethiopian migrants forced to work without pay under Lebanon’s kafala system
Ethiopians make up the majority of the foreign domestic work population employed in Lebanon. The majority of these domestic workers are [...]
U.S. anti-trafficking organizations constrained on sex workers’ rights
The U.S. government makes around $300 million in funding available annually for anti-trafficking organizations, a significant amount [...]
New President of Uzbekistan Fails to Keep His Promise
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan, promised to outlaw forced labor in his country, but institutions–schools, faculties, [...]
Concerns for migrant workers in U.S. farms and meat plants as COVID-19 spreads
COVID-19 is spreading rapidly through the largely immigrant workforces of U.S. farms and meat factories, but insufficient protections [...]
Institutionalized victimhood: debating sex work in the Philippines
The Philippines enacted its own anti-trafficking law in 2003 with a core focus on ending the sexual exploitation of women and children. [...]
Misuse of Indian Law May Lead to Forced Child Marriage
The 2012 Protection of Children against Sexual Offences Act (POSCO) in India is intended to safeguard children from sexual abuse. Among [...]
With Brexit, U.K. has key opportunity to take a stand on Uzbek cotton
In an opinion piece for openDemocracy, a human rights lawyer called for the United Kingdom to end its complicity in forced labor in [...]
Empower and protect: rethinking bans on child labor
“Child labor isn’t going anywhere, so children’s safety in work must become the priority.” Writing in Open Democracy, [...]
Confronting the Root Causes of Forced Labor in Global Supply Chains
Where does forced labor come from? What are the root causes? Often this is traced back to two explanations: poverty and globalization, [...]