Ongoing project

Living With The Consequences

In the contexts of both the Global North and the Global South, the findings of these scholarships have the power to change the course of policy and practice.

Project summary

The Challenge

It is vital that we understand the consequences of modern forms of slavery for those involved, and there is little research in this area.

The Approach

The research covers the experience of witnesses in court proceedings, medium-term effects and how modern slavery prevention affects human rights.

The Outcome

The findings of these scholarships can potentially transform the direction of policy and practice in this field for the Global North and South.

The Challenge

While questions about the need to address the manifold legacies of historical forms of slavery continue to be voiced, the recent past has revealed that it is equally vital that we understand the consequences of slavery in its newer, reimagined modern form. As yet, however, little critical attention has been paid to understanding the impact modern forms of slavery have on those caught up in them.

The Approach

This cluster of three PhD projects has investigated problems experienced by those living in the shadow of modern forms of slavery. The research was led by PhD candidates Mavuto K. Banda, Jen Nghishitende and Isabel Arce Zelada and the supervisors were Dr Simon Green, Professor Helen Johnston, and Dr Elsbeth Robson.

The cluster has looked at the consequences of modern slavery from a number of different perspectives. The research has looked at what happens after people have experienced exploitation, how people make sense of these experiences and how they then move on with their lives, especially in the longer-term, with an emphasis on questions of dignity and rights. The cluster has also investigated the experience of those identified as victims after being witnesses in the court process, as well as considering those prevented from exercising their human rights because of restrictions placed on them by measures put in place, both locally and internationally, to prevent the emergence of modern forms of slavery.

In this video, PhD candidate Jen Nghishitende talks about her research into the aftermath for women, of living through modern slavery in the UK.

The Impact

Together these three scholarships have allowed us to understand the mechanisms and impact of three decades of policies and interventions aimed at eradicating modern forms of slavery, and provide a blueprint for improving the lives of those who have had to live through it.

The findings of these scholarships have the potential to transform the direction of policy and practice, in the contexts of both the Global North and the Global South.

Read a blog post by PhD candidate Jen Nghishitende - 'Reflecting on the Hull-Bonn-Leiden Seminar'.