WHO WE ARE
Joint Program on Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery
Human trafficking and other forms of contemporary slavery have become issues of growing global concern over the last several years. These offenses against basic human dignity are pervasive and ensnare tens of millions of people around the world in the most despicable forms of human exploitation. Today, various modes of modern slavery are increasingly linked to the global economy, and they continue to evolve into progressively more pernicious forms. To meet the challenge of these crimes, a new brand of global institutional leadership is required: one that possesses sufficient expertise, influence, and resources to catalyze more effective anti-trafficking efforts.
The FXB Center for Health and Human Rights and the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard University intend to meet that need through their Joint Program on Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery, which is poised to become a cutting-edge resource on anti-trafficking education, research, and policy work. With the increasing recognition of the need for scholarly analysis among the anti-trafficking community, the time is ripe for an academic institution to lead the next decade of anti-slavery scholarship, while also training the next generation of key leaders in the field.
Led by Siddharth Kara, a Visiting Scientist at the FXB Center, innovative and relevant research will be the backbone of the Program’s model for generating knowledge and advocating for tangible change to combat slavery worldwide. The program’s first major research project is currently underway. This research, funded by Google’s philanthropic arm, documents severe labor exploitation relating to the production of carpets in South Asia, including supply chain tracing of tainted products to Western consumers.
Additional Research Topics
Additional research topics include:
- Test-bed programs and measurement of anti-trafficking initiatives – A key component of all research will be the continual testing of initiatives and recommendations that arise from the Program’s research, or from external partners such as the UN, the U.S. State Department, or key NGOs. This activity will provide a basis around which to design broader anti-trafficking efforts, or to curtail those policies that prove less effective. Mechanisms for raising awareness and building a larger community through social media and web-based tools will also be explored.
- Analyzing key commodities with slave labor in supply chains – Several global commodities and products (minerals, gold, agriculture, fish and shrimp, cotton, palm oil, tea and coffee, cocoa, etc.) that are sold in the U.S. and EU contain slave or child labor exploitation at early stages in their supply chains; reliably documenting the size and scale of these abuses is vital towards catalyzing an effective corporate social responsibility response, as well as consumer awareness campaigns.
- Measurement tools to analyze the efficacy of anti-trafficking programs – Measuring the efficacy of various tactics to combat human trafficking is increasingly important to the field; the program will place ongoing focus on dedicated research projects that identify common tactical interventions and measure their efficacy.
- Linkages between human trafficking and other forms of contemporary slavery – In order to generate more effective interventions, it is important to understand the relationships between human trafficking and other forms of contemporary slavery, such as bonded labor and child labor. It is also critical to remain intellectually nimble as traffickers and exploiters evolve and source new pools of potential slave labor.
- Country-specific data gathering on human trafficking – Two countries have engaged Siddharth Kara to establish baseline metrics, data, and other information on the scale, scope, and functioning of human trafficking within and across their borders. Analogous efforts will be pursued in several other countries.
Photo: Angela Duger/FXB
