Open Democracy

Border law leads to 53 dead in Texas tragedy

53 people have now died from hyperthermia trapped in a sealed truck found in Texas, 160 miles from the U.S. Mexico border where outside [...]

Survivor engagement: on turning rhetoric into practice

In the anti-trafficking sector, a high value is often placed on survivors’ stories and first-hand accounts of trafficking and modern [...]

Worker-driven solutions end slavery in electronics

Photo credit: ILO/Asrian Mirza A quarter of the world’s manufacturing is for the electronics sector. It employs millions of [...]

Does venture capitalism harm more than help anti-trafficking efforts?

Contributors at openDemocracy have begun a policy debate on the effects of philanthrocapitalism on the anti-trafficking field. Venture [...]

U.K. must stop penalizing victims for crimes they were forced to commit, says TIP report

The U.K. is failing to provide adequate support for trafficking victims, according to the 2022 Trafficking in Persons report. The [...]

Surveillance & data gathering by big tech is endangering trafficking survivors

When a survivor panellist at Amazon’s Tech Against Trafficking Summit in Seattle last year explained how data sharing with law [...]

Anti-Trafficking Policy Makers “Do Not Want to Disrupt Power Relationships”

Why do so many interventions to stop human trafficking fail? Because politicians are less interested in adopting policies that [...]

How we talk about modern slavery matters

Is modern slavery a disease like the coronavirus? Is it a “stain” on otherwise spotless companies’ reputations? Dr. Ras and [...]

Progress stalls on sex workers’ rights in India

Sex workers in India protest against harmful anti-trafficking efforts

Earlier this year, India’s Supreme Court officially defined sex work as a profession, calling for an end to police violence against sex [...]

From self-styled modern slavery leader to abandoning trafficking victims – what happened?

The U.K. has just passed the Illegal Migration Act into law in a devastating attack on the rights of migrants, refugees, and [...]

Uzbekistan’s Future Hinges on Freedom of Association

Uzbekistan has embarked on major reforms and increased diplomatic engagement since Shavkat Mirziyoyev took over as president. Yet, [...]

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 [...]

“Sound of Freedom”: Hollywood’s misguided take on anti-trafficking

Amid the tremendous popularity of the film “Sound of Freedom,” which has made over 100 million dollars already, a critical [...]

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

COP27 is over – what next?

The Sharm El-Sheikh COP27 climate summit concluded last week after two weeks of tense discussions with world leaders. Well past the [...]

Theresa May’s legacy: migrant worker exploitation

As Theresa May bids farewell to politics, her legacy is one of controversy, particularly within migrant communities and advocacy [...]

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’?

Bangladeshi migrants still paying off debts from working in Qatar

Bangladeshi migrant workers are reporting returning to their home countries saddled with debt after paying high recruitment fees to [...]

Jails in the U.K. hold more victims of modern slavery than perpetrators

Modern slavery victims in the U.K. are legally entitled to specialist support under the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract regardless [...]

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 [...]