لنستخرج كنوزا من المعرفة و الإبداع و العلم و الأفكار
The Researchers Identified Five Topics of Note
The researchers identified the five most–frequently researched topics on labor trafficking and then determined the least understood questions for each topic.
1. Identification, investigation, and training
The processes of identifying and screening trafficking victims, properly intervening, investigating and enforcing cases, and training are some of the most studied. Still, many knowledge gaps remain, such as the best practices for each of these processes. For example, despite the identification of a set of indicators, a large proportion of the victims remain undetected, partly because of vague, overlapping, or outmoded definitions and indications.
2. Trafficking practices
Important characteristics of trafficking practices include profiles of typical victims, recruitment methods, industries, and supply chains. Although victims are often immigrants with low-wage jobs who are unaware of their rights, some groups of victims are invisible or remain silent for fear of reprisal. Likewise, technology is changing recruitment practices and making them more difficult to detect. Particular industries — such as farming, fishing, and domestic work — are well known for labor trafficking and likelier to be the subjects of research. However, other industries, such as manufacturing, might fly under the radar because of their complex nature. Supply chains, one of the most-researched topics in labor trafficking, remain one of the most challenging because of the increasing globalization of goods, which has created transnational networks of buyers, suppliers, transporters, and consumers, thereby increasing the difficulty in tracking the workers involved.
Questions identified for the topic of trafficking practices included the following:
- What are the industry-specific recruitment methods for labor trafficking?
- When during the immigration process are people recruited?
- Who are the traffickers?
- What are traffickers' characteristics?
- How do traffickers operate and communicate?
- How do traffickers engage victims?
- What risk factors influence migrants' high vulnerability to being forced into labor?
3. Methods and data gaps in the labor trafficking research field
High-quality research is needed to create and further evaluate the effectiveness of evidence-based policies and programs. However, the complexity of labor trafficking fundamentally challenges efforts to conduct quality research. Among the complexities and challenges is the absence of universally accepted terminology, definitions, standards, and outcome measures, which result in poor data quality or simply a lack of data. Ethical issues preclude the use of some forms of data, especially legal proceedings or personal information.
One question the researchers identified for the topic of methods and data gaps in the labor trafficking research field was this:
- How can federal, state, and local data systems be coordinated and organized to promote data-sharing, quantitative analysis, and rigorous evaluations?
4. Victim experiences
Because information that could be obtained only with direct access to victims is generally unavailable, little is known about victims' actual experiences and their perceptions of them. Also, victims are often inaccessible because they fail to access information about their rights and avoid services intended to assist them. Reasons include lack of information in their languages or the much stronger fear of deportation or of losing employment or housing.
One question related to the topic of victim experiences was this:
- How can stakeholders reduce undocumented workers' reluctance to participate in services, programs, and research?
5. Roles of multinational organizations and partnerships
Because labor trafficking is so complex, much work and research are needed to understand companies' roles in the perpetuation of human trafficking, including practices that are within businesses' control and scope to change. Information is needed on business relationships and sourcing choices and on measures that they are already implementing to mitigate trafficking. Researchers have also found that cooperation and communication among companies, governments, and NGOs are important.
Questions identified for the topic of roles of multinational organizations and partnerships included the following:
- How helpful are initiatives and technologies for an effective traceability scheme?
- How can appropriate ethical supply chain tool kits be developed and introduced?
Ultimately, the answers to these questions will be needed to drive new policies that address labor trafficking issues, reducing victimization and increasing identification, investigation, and prosecution. Link :https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RBA1681-1.html
