More learning-oriented evaluations are needed in the field of modern slavery.

Key-Takeaways from the Conference on ‘Equity in Evidence: Fusing lived experience and community knowledge into research to end human trafficking’

Author: Dr Mamta Mehar, Senior MEL Consultant at Impactloop

Conference

In June 2023, the Freedom Fund, the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery (GFEMS) and the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre (Modern Slavery PEC) held a conference called ‘Equity in Evidence: Fusing lived experience and community knowledge into research to end human trafficking’ in London. Before the conference, an Advisory Group consisting of seven members were recruited which in total represented five different global regions. Amongst them advisory group members was Dr Mamta Mehar, representative of South Asia, and Senior Consultant at Impactloop Ltd.

Below, Dr. Mehar captures her key takeaways from the conference and her journey as advisory member, representing South Asia. Being a seasoned evaluator, Mamta Mehar is passionate about bringing learning-oriented research into the field of human trafficking.

“I am certain that evaluations directed towards accountability are crucial for ensuring that investments in humanitarian action are used efficiently and actually make a difference for the target communities”, says Dr. Mehar. She recommends a new vision for modern slavery research with a paradigm shift, stating that “we should move from traditional academic research towards learning-oriented evaluation research with practical relevance“.

Background

In 2021, 50 million people were reported to be living in modern slavery - also known as human trafficking, trafficking in person which is visible in multiple forms such as bonded and forced labour, child labour, forced marriage, among other terms - on any given day in 2021, as reported by ILO in 2022. This constitutes an increase of 10 million people (25%) since 2016. This is despite the fact that human rights continue to be at the forefront of international and national policies and research, and even though several international agreements, standards, and conventions for human trafficking have been initiated until today.

The poster below shows a timeline of important global efforts against human trafficking. These efforts involved various projects worldwide and partnerships with governments, organizations, and others. Most of these initiatives are still active, helping trafficking victims with money and supporting research for better evidence-based solutions.

Despite the prominence of such statistics and the growing evidence provided by initiatives as illustrated above, scholars and representatives of people with lived experience have claimed that their concerns and voices continue to be misinterpreted or not be considered at all.

Key Takeaways

Dr Mehar noted down key take-aways from her journey as an advisory member and from attending the conference:

1. Lived experience informs research and vice versa: Inclusion of people with lived experience of human trafficking is important and should not be limited to listening or learning from their stories and testimonials. It also means bringing in people affected by human trafficking as researchers and as project advisors to better hear their suggestions on ethics and research topics. Their rehabilitation journey can inform practical approaches for future programs and support the development of appropriate responses by relevant actors.

2. Compelling and feasible funding proposals: It is important to focus on telling a compelling idea in funding proposals, rather than focusing merely on academic rigour and using a lot of jargon. In addition to selling compelling ideas, honing in on the feasibility (in various ways, i.e. technical, operational, financial feasibility) of research proposals and focussing on presenting holistic approaches which manage to connect multiple themes and potential barriers to and enabling factors for human trafficking solutions is important.

3. Revaluation of definitions and research approaches: It is imperative to adopt a more comprehensive approach to assess modern slavery programs to deliver greater results for policy and evidence. Traditional evaluations often focus solely on measuring the outcomes and impact of interventions, neglecting the importance of continuous learning and improvement. While these evaluations certainly have their merits, they fail to capture the nuances and complexities inherently. To ensure inclusivity of inputs or learnings from individuals with lived experience, their inputs are crucial for contextualization of the definition and research approaches for evaluation. This needs considering in capturing what is efficient for evaluation given resources, and what is not, and how performance can be improved through out the programme cycle

In conclusion, the need for more learning-oriented evaluations in the field of modern slavery is undeniable. This pressing global issue demands a multifaceted approach that goes beyond mere awareness and advocacy. It requires a deep understanding of the root causes of different patterns of modern day slavery, the diverse experiences of those who have been trafficked, the effectiveness of tailored interventions, and the impact on affected individuals, communities, and society at large. At Impactloop, we strive to integrate inclusive and participatory mixed-methods, and learning-loops into all of our evaluations including evaluating humanitarian action based programs.