Modern Slavery PEC podcast

Forced labour import bans

On 14 September 2022, the European Commission published a proposal to prohibit products made with forced labour on the EU market.

So, in this episode of the Modern Slavery PEC podcast we’re talking forced labour import bans. In the first part we’re talking specifically about the EU proposal to Sofia Gonzalez de Aguinaga from the Bingham Centre, who is a Modern Slavery PEC research fellow focusing on business supply chains.

For the second part, we invited our colleague from the Modern Slavery PEC Owain Johnstone to talk about what evidence says about the effectiveness of forced labour import bans in general. Owain is one of the authors of our policy briefing on this very subject, which you can find on our website at https://modernslaverypec.org/resources/forced-labour-import-bans.

How to research modern slavery better: partnerships between academics and NGOs

Recording of the event held on 18 July 2022, organised by the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre on building equitable partnerships between academics and NGOs in modern slavery research. It's the first event of a new series of events 'How to research modern slavery better', bringing together people from the anti-slavery sector and beyond to talk and learn from each other on ways of doing research better. 

We invited speakers from two projects funded by the Modern Slavery PEC to reflect on their experiences working in these kind of partnerships, and shared our own lessons we learned from our funded projects so far.

The speakers were: Dr Liz Such (lead researcher of our project assessing modern slavery prevention initiatives in the UK, Debbie Ariyo (Chief Executive of AFRUCA & Chair of the UK BME Anti-Slavery Network), Robin Brierley (Executive Director of the West Midlands Anti Slavery Network) and Lauren Saunders (Head of Policy & Research, Unseen).

How can we improve equality, diversity and inclusion in modern slavery research?

On this episode of the Modern Slavery PEC podcast we're discussing the lack of diversity in modern slavery research, what we need to do to improve it, as well as our own Modern Slavery PEC's strategy to change it. 

In the first part of the podcast we're discussing a situation in the wider modern slavery sector with Debbie Ariyo from AFRUCA, whose work on improving diversity in the modern slavery sector has led to founding BASNET, the UK BME Anti-Slavery Network. 

In the second part, we're talking to Niki Kalyvides, Monitoring and Evaluation Manager at the Modern Slavery PEC to discuss what we as a Centre are doing to improve diversity in modern slavery research. 

You can find the Modern Slavery PEC EDI Strategy and Action Plan on our website. If you have feedback, questions or suggestions, please email Niki Kalyvides on n.kalyvides@modernslaverypec.org. 

Anti-Slavery Day - listening to people with lived experience

For Anti-Slavery Day we are talking about the importance of listening to people with lived experience of modern slavery.

Developing new evidence that draws directly from lived experience of survivors is key to improving the policies designed to address modern slavery. But what does it mean to listen to survivors of modern slavery? What does it mean to meaningfully include them in research and policy? 

We're talking with Prof Caroline Bradbury-Jones and Dr Minh Dang about their work on mental wellbeing of adult survivors, and in the second part we're talking to Dr Patricia Hynes about her work with children.  

How to engage consumers in addressing modern slavery

In the first episode of the Modern Slavery PEC podcast we’re talking about consumers and their role in addressing modern slavery.

We’re discussing the Modern Slavery PEC report entitled ‘Addressing consumer awareness and (in)action towards modern slavery” with their authors Dr Michal Carrington from the University of Melbourne, Professor Andreas Chatzidakis from Royal Holloway University of London and Professor Deirdre Shaw from the University of Glasgow. Their research analyses how consumer attitudes, intentions and behaviour can be mobilised to help address modern slavery.

We’re discussing why raising awareness of modern slavery alone has limited effectiveness and why identifying clear practical actions to take is crucial in designing campaigns involving consumers, why using consumer power can be most effectively extended to their role as citizens and mobilised to pressure decisionmakers, as well as many other issues. 

The full report that we’re discussing, along with a short research summary and a brief practical guidance on how to engage consumers most effectively, can be found on the Modern Slavery PEC website at https://modernslaverypec.org/resources/consumer-attitudes.