LIBRARY
publications & videos
Rigorous, reliable data benefits everyone, but it often is not easy to come by, especially when working on trafficking in global supply chains. One of the main goals of Issara Labs is to generate more reliable data and analysis on an ongoing basis as a public good - to be used by businesses, governments, practitioners, consumers, and other stakeholders in their own efforts toward worker empowerment and trafficking-free supply chains.
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We also really appreciate the amazing work that some of our colleagues are producing around the world; our favorites are also featured here!
2019 VIDEOS, PREMIERED AT THE THIRD
ISSARA GLOBAL FORUM
NEW! FROM THE 2019
ISSARA GLOBAL FORUM
Follow the recruitment journey of a seafood worker, and hear his recommendations on this process
2018 VIDEOS, PREMIERED AT THE SECOND
ISSARA GLOBAL FORUM
2018: Driving ethical recruitment from the grassroots
2017 VIDEOS, PREMIERED AT THE FIRST
ISSARA GLOBAL FORUM
2017: Empowering worker voices in global supply chains
2017: Solving labour issues in supply chains
2017: Building ethical recruitment channels
ETHICS & EMPOWERMENT
UPDATED GUIDE TO ETHICS AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN ANTI-TRAFFICKING
Lisa Rende Taylor and Mark Latonero (2018)
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Published by Issara Institute
TOWARD DEMAND-DRIVEN, EMPOWERING ASSISTANCE FOR TRAFFICKED PERSONS
Anders Lisborg and Issara Institute (2017)
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Published by Issara Institute
PSYCHOMETRIC MEASURES OF EMPOWERMENT & DISEMPOWERMENT OF SURVIVORS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Ana Maria Soto and Sanjeev Dasgupta (2018)
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Published by Issara Institute
FEATURED NEW REPORTS!
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Worker feedback technologies and combatting modern slavery in supply chains: examining the effectiveness of remediation-oriented and due-diligence-oriented technologies in identifying and addressing forced labour and human trafficking (Lisa Rende Taylor and Elena Shih), recently published by the British Academy and available on our website and here.
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Labour Risks in the Thai and Indonesian Fishing Industries: A Practical Guide for Responsible Sourcing - In collaboration with Coventry University, Issara recently contributed to Fish for Export: Working in the Wild Capture Seafood Industry in Indonesia and distilled additional fieldwork and learning in Thailand and Indonesia into this brief targeted at a responsible sourcing audience.
WORKER FEEDBACK TECHNOLOGIES AND COMBATTING MODERN SLAVERY IN GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAINS
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Lisa Rende Taylor and Elena Shih (2019)
LABOUR RISKS IN THE THAI AND INDONESIAN FISHING INDUSTRIES
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Lisa Rende Taylor, Jarrett Basedow, Mark Taylor, and David Visser (2019)
ETHICAL RECRUITMENT
Do you want to see the complete mapping of recruitment costs from Myanmar to Thailand? Do you want to learn the details of the risks of recruitment through all the various channels, and how global buyers and grassroots organizations at source and destination can drive ethical recruitment? Do you want to learn about how to achieve transparency in recruitment practices and costs down to the first-mile, and eliminate these costs and debts?
If you do, please read these reports!
DEVELOPING A FINANCIALLY VIABLE ETHICAL RECRUITMENT MODEL: PROSPECTS FOR THE MYANMAR-THAILAND RECRUITMENT CHANNEL
Mark Taylor (2018)
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Published by Issara Institute
WORKER VOICE-DRIVEN ETHICAL RECRUITMENT
2017
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Issara Institute program brief
DRIVING BEHAVIOUR CHANGE OF RECRUITERS, SUPPLIERS, AND JOB SEEKERS TOWARD ETHICAL RECRUITMENT: CRITICAL ROLES OF GLOBAL BUYERS & GRASSROOTS ACTORS
Lisa Rende Taylor and Ohnmar Ei Ei Chaw (2018)
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Published by Issara Institute
SLAVERY-FREE RECRUITMENT SYSTEMS: A LANDSCAPE ANALYSIS OF FEE-FREE RECRUITMENT INITIATIVES
Phil Marshall (2016)
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Published by Issara Institute
The following non-Issara reports, written by our colleagues operating in other parts of the world, are also fantastic resources on the topic of ethical (or exploitative) labour recruitment:
FAKE JOBS FOR SALE: ANALYZING FRAUD AND ADVANCING TRANSPARENCY IN U.S. LABOR RECRUITMENT
Centro de Los Direchos del Migrante (2018)
THE MIGRANT RECRUITMENT INDUSTRY: PROFITABILITY AND UNETHICAL BUSINESS PRACTICES IN NEPAL, PARAGUAY AND KENYA
Katharine Jones et. al. (2015)
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Published by ILO
RECRUITMENT REVEALED: FUNDAMENTAL FLAWS IN THE H-2 TEMPORARY WORKER PROGRAM AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CHANGE
Centro de Los Direchos del Migrante (2013)
TURNING PEOPLE INTO PROFITS: ABUSIVE RECRUITMENT, TRAFFICKING AND FORCED LABOUR OF NEPALI MIGRANT WORKERS
Amnesty International (2017)
FORCED LABOR IN THE PRODUCTION OF ELECTRONIC GOODS IN MALAYSIA: A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF SCOPE & CHARACTERISTICS
Verite (2014)
WORKER VOICE
WHAT IS 'WORKER VOICE' IN THE CONTEXT OF GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAINS? 5 QUESTIONS THAT NEED TO BE ASKED, FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF DATA INTEGRITY & WORKER EMPOWERMENT
Issara Institute (2017)
GOLDEN DREAMS: TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION TO EMPOWER WORKERS AND ELIMINATE HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAINS
2017
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Issara Institute program brief
TECHNOLOGY TO ADDRESS FORCED LABOUR IN SUPPLY CHAINS: A LANDSCAPE ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO BRANDS, DEVELOPERS AND INVESTORS
Samir Goswami (2017)
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Published by Issara Institute
ISSARA INCLUSIVE LABOUR MONITORING, VERSUS AUDITS: UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENCES
2016
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Issara Institute infographic
The following report is an absolute must-read for those interested in technology and worker voice!
TRANSFORMATIVE TECHNOLOGY FOR MIGRANT WORKERS: OPPORTUNITIES, CHALLENGES, AND RISKS
Bassina Farbenblum, Laurie Berg, and Angela Kintominas (2018)
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Published by Open Society Foundations
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
ANNUAL REPORT
2015-2016
Issara Institute's Annual Report covers Issara's program activities and impact from its founding in 2014 through December 2016. Throughout 2016, the Issara team impacted the lives of over 60,000 migrant workers, added four new worker voice channels, and expanded Issara’s supply chain work beyond seafood into fruits and vegetables, oriental sauces, petcare, and poultry.
We sincerely thank our donors and Strategic Partners for all the support provided to date! The next report, on 2017-2018 activities and impact, will be released in early 2019.
project issara end-of-pilot review
How it all started!
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TRAFFICKING IN THE THAI FISHING INDUSTRY
external reports
Various reports have come out on the Thai seafood industry over the last few years. Below we share a selection of key publications.
'Caught in a trap: the story of poverty wages behind Asian shrimp sold in European supermarkets'
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'Health and Human Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Subregion'
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and International Organization for Migration (IOM) (2014)
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Environmental Justice Foundation (2013)
ILO Global Estimate of Forced Labour 2012: Results and Methodology. International Labour Organisation (2012)
Estimating Labor Trafficking: A Study of Burmese Migrant Workers in Samut Sakhon, Thailand'
Labour Rights Promotion Network and The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School Of Public Health Center For Refugee And Disaster Response (2011)
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'From the Tiger to the Crocodile: Abuse of Migrant Workers in Thailand'
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Solidarity Center (2008)
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'Ethical Audits and the Supply Chains of Global Corporations'
Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute (2015)
Site Title
media
'Radical idea to help free slaves: just give them cash'
Michael Holtz, The Christian Science Monitor, 11 January 2016
'Global supermarkets selling shrimp peeled by slaves'
Margie Mason, Robin McDowell, Martha Mendoza, Esther Htusan, Associated Press, 14 December 2015
''Sea Slaves': The Human Misery that Feeds Pets and Livestock'
Ian Urbina, New York Times, 27 July 2015
'AP tracks slave boats to Papua New Guinea'
Robin McDowell, Martha Mendoza & Margie Mason, Associated Press, 27 July 2015
Margie Mason, Associated Press, 29 June 2015
'Over 300 slaves rescued from Indonesia island after AP investigation into forced labour'
Robin McDowell & Margie Mason, Associated Press, 4 April 2015
'Asia needs better data, more funding to stamp out modern slavery'
Astrid Zweynert, Reuters, 17 June 2015
'Thai Government condemned in annual US human trafficking report'
Felicity Lawrence & Kate Hodal, The Guardian, 20 June 2014
'Trash Fish: it's gross, tainted by slavery, and possibly in your dog food'
Patrick Winn, The Global Post, 18 June 2014
'Trafficked into Slavery on Thai trawlers to catch food for prawns'
Kate Hodal & Chris Kelly, The Guardian, 10 June 2014
'Revealed: Asian Slave Labour producing seafood for supermarkets in US, UK'
Kate Hodal, Chris Kelly, and Felicity Lawrence, The Guardian, 10 June 2014
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