Research Unchained: The Multidisciplinary Future of Antislavery Studies

Forward to Research Unchained: Multidisciplinary Future of Antislavery Studied
Dr. Jean Allain and Dr. Kevin Bales

This Special Issue provides us with the possibility to look into the multidisciplinary futures of antislavery studies and to appreciate the contemporary terrain in which early career researchers are seeking to establish and develop their voices. It is not surprising that fresh voices are represented here expressing fresh and challenging ideas.

Introduction by the editors of the Antislavery Usable Past Postgraduate Research Network Special Issue
Katarina Schwarz, Hannah Jeffery, and Rebecca Nelson, PhD candidates

In order to tend to the future, it is fundamental that we listen to the past. History must be the bedrock for the development of law, business, policy, art, literature and technology in this field, because the contemporary manifestations of exploitation and enslavement do not exist within an historical vacuum. It is with this perspective in mind that the Antislavery Early Research Association (Antislavery ERA) was established. Conceived within the framework of the ‘Antislavery Usable Past’ project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the Antislavery ERA brings together a group of interdisciplinary graduate students and early career researchers of historic and contemporary slavery and antislavery

Part I: Definitions and Legal Justice

Approaching Contemporary Slavery Through an Historic Lens: an Interdisciplinary Perspective
Rebecca Nelson and Alicia Kidd, PhD candidates

This article uses an interdisciplinary approach combining social justice and history to address and offer a response to critiques that argue ‘slavery’ is not an appropriate term for present day cases of extreme exploitation. By analysing the means and modalities through which situations of slavery are established and maintained across various temporal and geographical examples, this article highlights how the practices of the past persist in the present.

Securing the Prohibition of Labour Exploitation in Law and Practice: Slavery, Servitude, Forced Labour and Human Trafficking in Italy, Spain and the UK
Dr. Paola Cavanna, Ana Belén Valverde Cano, PhD candidate, and Amy Weatherburn, PhD candidate

The fight against contemporary forms of slavery is a top priority in the current global agenda. This article reviews and assesses the domestic diversity of labour exploitation regulation. In part 1, the article reviews the concept of labour exploitation in international and European law, whilst part 2 provides an overview of three legal frameworks – Italy, Spain and the UK. A comparative analysis considers the extent to which these countries implement international legal obligations both in law and practice. Finally, the article seeks to promote cross-fertilisation of experiences and dialogue among legal practitioners, both domestically and between different countries.

Strategic Litigation as a Tool to Combat Modern Slavery
James Sinclair, PhD candidate

The legal, political and commercial landscape surrounding modern slavery has developed significantly since 2008. However, the relative weakness of enforcement mechanisms within legislation designed to combat labour exploitation has meant that there have been few meaningful changes to abusive commercial practices. This article explores whether corporate accountability litigation could fill the enforcement void. It looks at the prospects for such litigation in the UK and concludes that there are significant challenges to be overcome. For litigation to be a successful lever of corporate change, it will require jurisprudential developments, extensive resourcing and dedicated, persistent professionals.

Irregular Victims: Investigating the Immigration Status Decisions of Post-NRM Victims of Human Trafficking, the Availability of Eligible Benefits and the Related Impact on Victims of Trafficking
Alexandra Williams-Woods and Yvonne Mellon, PhD candidates

Human trafficking is connected to migration as it often involves crossing international borders. This article argues that by failing to view the issue of human trafficking through the lens of migration, the current framework for assisting victims of human trafficking fails to ensure the protection of the individuals concerned. This article offers an innovative perspective by analysing the specific legal position of victims of human trafficking in the context of UK domestic law and international agreements, and tracing this to survivor experiences. The extent to which non-UK national survivors of human trafficking are able to access the rights that they are entitled to in the UK is explored, as well as what factors influence the accessibility of these rights. Utilising an interdisciplinary approach, encompassing scholarship of law and politics, this article links a review of the current legal landscape relating to immigration status for trafficking victims with empirical work exploring the experiences of non-UK national trafficking survivors.

Reasserting Agency: Procedural Justice, Victim-Centricity, and the Right to Remedy for Survivors of Slavery and Related Exploitation
Katarina Schwarz and Jing Geng, PhD candidates

One of the biggest failings of contemporary regimes governing human exploitation is their treatment of ‘victims’. This paper roots narratives of victimhood and agency in the legal frameworks through analysis of the right to effective remedy in human rights and international law. Dominant characterisations of ‘victimisation’ are problematised and an alternative formulation – the ‘victim-agent’ – proposed in order to recognise agency and its abrogation, advocate for participation consistent with the demands of procedural justice, and contribute to meaningful redress.

Part II: New Anti-Slavery Strategies and Cultures

“A Colossal Work of Art”: Antislavery Methods of Visual Protest From 1845 to Today
Hannah Jeffery, PhD candidate, and Dr. Hannah-Rose Murray

In 1967, the faces of black antislavery figures were woven into the fabric of the urban US environment to showcase radical black narratives and empower segregated black communities. Murals depicting the faces of Frederick Douglass, Nathaniel Turner and Ida B. Wells lined the streets alongside visualizations of self-emancipated figures slashing chains and unshackling bodies. Although these 1960s murals visualized subversive antislavery narratives in the streets for the first time, the cultural form of black protest murals was not new. In this paper, we trace the visual lineage of antislavery protest from the nineteenth century panorama to the modern antislavery mural.

‘They don’t play or run or shout…They’re slaves’: The First Survey of Children’s Literature on Modern Slavery
Charlotte James, PhD candidate

This article provides the first survey of children’s literature on modern slavery and analyses the emergence of this movement. Exploring fictional texts and survivor accounts, this article explores how these texts bring modern slavery to children from the news and media. It examines the various trends that emerge from these pieces, including the countries included, types of slavery highlighted, the ages and genders of individuals, and the authors of these texts, survivors or not. It also includes preliminary conclusions about the effectiveness of those texts as educational tools, discussing how these texts highlight signs of slavery and unpack its scale.

Analysing Slavery through Satellite Technology: How Remote Sensing Could Revolutionise Data Collection to Help End Modern Slavery
Bethany Jackson, PhD student, Dr. Kevin Bales, Dr. Sarah Owen, Dr. Jessica Wardlaw, and Dr. Doreen S. Boyd

An estimated 40.3 million people are enslaved globally across a range of industries. Whilst these industries are known, their scale can hinder the fight against slavery. Some industries using slave labour are visible in satellite imagery, including mining, brick kilns, fishing and shrimp farming. Satellite data can provide supplementary details for large scales which cannot be easily gathered on the ground. This paper reviews previous uses of remote sensing in the humanitarian and human rights sectors and demonstrates how Earth Observation as a methodology can be applied to help achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal target 8.7.

Collaborating to Identify, Recover and Support Victims of Modern Slavery
Ben Brewster, PhD candidate

This article presents findings from a series of case studies into the impact of multi-agency anti-slavery partnerships in the UK. The research draws upon empirical evidence from a number of geographic regions as the basis of a comparative analysis involving the full spectrum of statutory and non-statutory organisations that undertake anti-slavery work. The article focuses, in particular, on the role of partnerships in victim identification and support, while simultaneously discussing issues and drawing upon existing discourse associated with policy, legislation and the macro conditions that impose barriers on such efforts.

Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Modern Slavery
Jodi L. Henderson
Assistant Editor
Dr. Tina Davis
Digital Editor
Peter F. Zimowski
Web Design
Peter F. Zimowski / David Perry

Publisher: SlaveFree Today
https://slavefreetoday.org
https://journalofmodernslavery.org