Acronyms

Our contribution to this literature and research is to share the findings of a project that was carried out by the International Anti-Human Trafficking Network (IAHTN), the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities (JLI) and the University of Leeds (UoL).

This research is distinctive in two main ways. First, while there is a wide-ranging emergent literature on this topic, the main focus so far has been upon the increased vulnerabilities that COVID-19 has given rise to, as well as new methods of trafficking as perpetrators adapt to changing conditions. One distinctive aspect of the research presented here is its focus on how COVID-19 has affected responses to trafficking and unsafe migration and on gathering information about effective responses to the challenges this has presented. It aims to share promising practices among NGOs internationally in order to better serve survivors and at-risk populations and to inform advocacy, policy and funding priorities.

The second distinctive contribution of this research is its focus on how faith actors are responding to the increased pressure that COVID-19 has placed upon their anti-trafficking work. Other studies have outlined how faith actors constitute a significant portion of the anti-human trafficking sector and this was confirmed by the fact that 27 out of the 47 responses to the online survey that we distributed were from faith actors (Lonergan et al 2021; Frame et al 2019; Frame 2020). Faith actors were not specifically sought out to participate in the research, apart from circulating the survey to the members of the JLI which does have a higher proportion of faith actor members than the other organisations and networks that disseminated the survey. However, only four respondents received the survey from the JLI. While the majority of faith actors operate just like any other professional organisation working in this area, an understanding of the distinctive features that they might bring to their work is limited, particularly at the local level (Frame 2020).

Methodology

An online survey (see Appendix 2 for survey questions) was jointly designed by the IAHTN, the Rights Lab at Nottingham University, Anti-Trafficking and Modern Slavery Hub at the Joint Learning Initiative, the University of Leeds and Walk Free. The survey was distributed to member organisations of the IAHTN and the JLI such as the Global Learning Community (GLC), European Freedom Network (EFN) and Freedom Collaborative whereby participants had one month to respond.

In total we received 47 responses from various anti-trafficking faith and nonfaith-based NGOs and charities in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas, the Caribbean and Oceania.

We then contacted a selection of the respondents for follow-up online interviews to understand further about how COVID-19 had impacted their context of work. We carried out 13 semistructured interviews (see Appendix 3 for discussion guide) with both faith and non-faith actors, each lasting between 30-60 minutes. These interviews were then transcribed and analysed. Prior to interviews taking place, participants were asked to sign a consent form, and at the start of each interview participants were reminded of the ethical issues involved in the research.

The research was approved by the University of Leeds Research Ethics Committee. The IAHTN held three webinars with its members on the impact of COVID-19 on their work, which were recorded and transcribed. The IAHTN also distributed preliminary survey findings to their members through the IAHTN newsletter (Appendix 4).

Outline of Report

This report commences with an exploration of published reports, findings from IAHTN webinars and academic and grey literature focusing on the impact of COVID-19 on trafficking in persons. Key survey and interview findings are then highlighted, followed by a conclusion and recommendations for next steps.