By Aase Villadsen, Nicolás Libuy, Emla Fitzsimons 

This project examined whether adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), positive childhood experiences (PCEs) and the levels of violent crime in children’s neighbourhoods are associated with children’s involvement in violence. Previous research suggests that ACEs are associated with involvement in violence, while PCEs are associated with decreased risk of involvement in crime and violence. There is some evidence that the relationship between ACEs, PCEs and involvement in violence is affected by the amount of violent crime in the local area. This study explored whether these factors are associated with three violence outcomes, measured at ages 14 and 17: assault perpetration, the carrying or using of a weapon and gang involvement. It primarily used data on around 14,000 children from the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS), a study that is tracking a cohort of children born around the millennium. It also used police-recorded crime data to understand the amount of violent crime in the local area. The ACEs examined by this study were: having a single parent; experiencing parental breakup; domestic violence; verbal abuse; physical abuse; parental alcohol abuse; parental drug use; parental mental health issues; poor parental relationships; poor parent-child relationship; and, having a parent with a long-term disability/illness. The list of PCEs included: having low-risk peers; positive peer experiences; good school connectedness; positive teacher-child relationships; participation in activities and hobbies; living in a safe neighbourhood; and feeling safe in the playground. Key findings : A higher number of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) is associated with an increased risk of children engaging in violence. Having two or more ACEs compared to none increased the risk of assault perpetration by 19%, weapon involvement by 57% and gang involvement by 61%. Having six or more ACEs increased the risk of assault perpetration by 45%, weapon involvement by 150% and gang involvement by 154%. The combination of ACEs associated with the highest risk included parental drug use, single parenthood, domestic violence, physical abuse and long-term parental disability or illness. A higher number of positive childhood experiences (PCEs) is associated with a decreased risk of children engaging in violence. Having three to four PCEs compared to zero to two PCEs reduced the risk of assault perpetration by 12%, weapon involvement by 33% and gang involvement by 28%. Having six to seven PCEs reduced the risk of assault perpetration by 35%, weapon involvement by 66% and gang involvement by 59%. The combination of PCEs associated with the lowest risk included low-risk peers, good school connectedness, positive teacher-child relationship and positive peer experiences. The link between ACEs and violence was reduced when children also had a high number of PCEs. Having high numbers of PCEs partially offset the risks associated with ACEs. Children who had both a high number of ACEs and PCEs, compared to those with a high number of ACEs and low PCEs, had a lower risk of involvement in violence. For example, among children with three or more ACEs, the risk of assault perpetration fell by 22%, weapons involvement by 49% and gang involvement by 39% for those who also had five or more PCEs. ACEs and PCEs better explain violence involvement than neighbourhood crime rates. Children growing up in high-violence neighbourhoods were more vulnerable to involvement in violence. For example, the likelihood of weapons involvement was 62% higher for children growing up in the 20% most violent areas. However, neighbourhood crime levels were no longer associated with violence perpetration once characteristics, including ACEs and PCEs, were taken into account. There is some evidence that differences in experiences of violence by ethnicity can be explained by family socioeconomic characteristics and exposure to ACEs and PCEs. Black children had higher rates of assault perpetration (53.3% and 47.6%, respectively) than White children (41.7%). This difference in assault rates disappeared after controlling for socioeconomic family characteristics and ACEs and PCEs, suggesting much of the difference can be explained by differences in exposure to these family factors. However, this analysis was limited by a small sample size of children from individual ethnic minority groups and is, therefore, not as secure as some of the other findings. Interpretation and implications This study provides valuable information about the relationship between ACEs, PCEs, neighbourhood safety and children’s involvement in violence. It is one of only a few studies to present evidence from an English or Welsh context. Insights from this study should be combined with findings from other research to identify and support the children who are most vulnerable to involvement in violence. These findings should be interpreted carefully. Although the study looked at whether factors are associated with violence, it cannot confirm whether these factors caused violence. For example, children who experienced physical abuse were more likely to commit violence, but we can’t rule out the possibility that this relationship is explained by another factor. Perhaps children who experienced abuse are also more likely to experience other hardships, which are the real drivers behind their involvement in violence. While this study used statistical techniques to try to rule out some other potential drivers, it was not able to capture all of these. The strengths of this study included its use of a large nationally representative sample, the use of statistical methods that deal with missing data and maintain a representative sample and the fact that it found similar results across several additional analyses and robustness checks. The results of the study should be considered alongside its limitations: • Sexual abuse and the involvement of household members in crime are commonly described as ACEs but were not available in the MCS data set and were not examined in this study. • The study relied on police-reported crime data to measure neighbourhood violent crime. However, much crime goes unreported to the police, especially in deprived areas. The findings on neighbourhood violence are less secure as a result. • The analyses examining more serious types of violence in smaller subgroups of children, such as children from smaller ethnic groups, have smaller samples and are less precise 

London: Youth Endowment Fund, 20225. 227p.

By The Mixed Migration Centre

  Drawing on more than 1,000 surveys with refugees and migrants, this infographic examines their perceptions of dangerous locations, direct experiences of abuse and harsh conditions and their interactions with and perceptions of smugglers. Additionally, it explores the sources of information that refugees and migrants relied on before and during their journey, as well as their access to assistance.  

London/Denmark: Mixed Migration Centre, 2024. 6p.

By The Mixed Migration Centre

Sudan serves as a key country of transit for movements along the Central Mediterranean Route, linking countries in East and the Horn of Africa to North Africa. Since the outbreak of conflict in April 2023, safe migration routes through the country have shifted away from Khartoum and migrants from conflict-affected regions are more reliant on smuggling networks to overcome limited mobility options and restrictive visa policies in neighbouring countries. This snapshot examines migrants' perceptions of their smugglers, the services they provide, and the abuses that migrants perceive smugglers to be perpetrating. It should be noted that while interviews with migrants were carried out in the second half of 2024, most respondents had been in Sudan since before the outbreak of war in April 2023 and are reflecting both on their interactions with smugglers along the journey to Sudan and once in the country. This is the first of two snapshots published on smuggling dynamics along routes to and within Sudan. The second snapshot on the role of smugglers is available here. Key findings • Over half of migrants felt that their smugglers helped them to reach their intended destination (59%) and did not feel intentionally misled by their smugglers (56%). • Perceptions varied by age, with youth (aged 18-24) expressing less confidence in their smugglers than older respondents (aged 25+). • The main services supplied by smugglers were providing accommodation (45%) and food/water (46%), facilitating border crossings (33%), and dealing with authorities (32%). Youth were more reliant on smugglers for crossing borders and dealing with authorities compared to older migrants (56% and 41% vs. 25% and 29%, respectively). • More than half of respondents (58%) described their smuggler as a "service provider or businessperson". Youth more often perceived their smugglers as criminals than older respondents (33% vs. 15-18%). • Few migrants (9%) perceived smugglers as perpetrators of abuse during their journey. For those who did (n=28), kidnapping (18 cases), detention (16 cases), physical violence (10 cases), and robbery (7 cases) were the top abuses.

London/Denmark: Mixed Migration Centre, 2025. 10p.

By Rebecca Rabinovitch,

In 2019, two appeal court decisions found that the administrative segregation regime used in Canada’s federal corrections system violated prisoners’ constitutional rights. While the two decisions differed in their analyses, some key points emerged: a constitutional system for segregating prisoners would need to ensure prisoners did not experience prolonged periods of severe isolation, and would need independent review of decisions to isolate prisoners. In response to these decisions, Bill C-83 was introduced. Among other changes, this bill aimed to abolish administrative segregation and replace it with a new system of structured intervention units (SIUs), intended to allow more humane separation of prisoners in line with the constitutional requirements identified by the appeal court decisions. However, this bill was criticized by many experts from the beginning of the legislative process as making insufficient change to truly vindicate the rights in question. Many worried that SIUs would be, in effect, administrative segregation under a new name. Now, as the five-year review of Bill C-83 approaches, there is an opportunity to assess whether SIUs have met the constitutional standards they were intended to realize. Through examination of the available data on SIUs – including documents from the Implementation Advisory Panel and Correctional Service Canada itself – this report examines the ongoing and serious violations of prisoners’ Charter rights under this system. The documented failures of the SIU regime in allowing these violations to continue highlights the urgency with which the review of Bill C-83 should be conducted. Under the SIU system, prisoners still experience a problematic degree of isolation. Many prisoners do not receive adequate time outside of their cells or engaged in meaningful human contact. Legislative standards for these activities are framed as obligations to provide opportunities rather than to ensure these standards are met, meaning that isolation can occur even when there is legislative compliance. However, prisoner refusals of offered opportunities cannot fully explain the degree of isolation present in SIUs, indicating that noncompliance with the legislation is a factor as well. These continuing conditions of severe isolation demonstrate that the holdings of the appeal court decisions relating to the duration of isolation and procedural fairness around isolation decisions cannot be dismissed as limited in relevance only to the former system of administrative segregation. Prisoners also continue to experience extended stays in SIUs. While the CCRA requires that prisoners be transferred out of the SIU as soon as possible, there is no cap on the duration of SIU stays to prevent prolonged isolation. A portion of the prisoners experiencing prolonged SIU stays also experience significant isolation caused by not receiving their entitlements to time outside of their cells and time in meaningful human contact. Under the Mandela Rules, the international standards for the treatment of prisoners accepted by Canada, this group of prisoners is experiencing torture. While Bill C-83 introduced a mechanism for review of SIU decisions by Independent External Decision Makers (IEDMs), this system contains serious flaws that impede its ability to provide  adequate procedural fairness. This problem is particularly urgent given the findings that prisoners continue to experience the very serious threats to life, liberty, and security of the person presented by the harmful degree of isolation faced in SIUs. In particular, IEDM review occurs after long periods of confinement in the SIU, and is reliant on information provided by Correctional Services Canada. This information has not been consistently complete or accurate, presenting a significant barrier to fair review. Even worse, many prisoners face delays in being referred to IEDM review at all, as well as delays in implementation of IEDM decisions. Finally, the SIU system has implications for the s. 15 Charter equality rights of particularly vulnerable groups of prisoners. Black and Indigenous prisoners are significantly overrepresented in the SIU population, meaning that these marginalized groups are placed at a heightened risk of experiencing the negative effects of SIU residence. Prisoners with mental health needs are also overrepresented in SIUs, despite their unique vulnerability to the psychological harms of isolation. The system of IEDM review has not succeeded in returning members of these groups to the general prison population, in part due to inconsistent provision of information about prisoners’ mental health status and social history factors to IEDMs. In combination, these problems indicate that serious violations of prisoners’ Charter rights remain prevalent in the SIU system. Bill C-83 cannot be said to have resolved the constitutional problems identified by the appeal courts of Ontario and British Columbia in their examination of the administrative segregation regime. As such, a thorough and expeditious five-year review of Bill C-83, involving civil society and aimed at reconsidering all aspects of SIUs, including compliance and enforcement, is imperative. In addition to the need to approach this review with urgency, this paper identifies further recommendations key to creating a system that can adequately respect prisoners’ Charter rights, including the following: • Amend the CCRA to define “solitary confinement” in line with the international standards set out in the Mandela Rules, • Prohibit prolonged solitary confinement (solitary confinement lasting over 15 days), • Prohibit solitary confinement for prisoners with serious mental health issues, and • Mandate improved data-sharing with the public and civil society   

The John Howard Society of Canada & David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights, 2023. 43p

By Chris Horwood and Bram Frouws

Almost 10 months after damning human rights reports and global publicity exposed Saudi Arabian state-driven border killings of migrants – labelled by Human Rights Watch as possible crimes against humanity - the deaths and injuries continue. New evidence appears to indicate that the Saudi border authorities at their southern border with Yemen are continuing to use live weapons to fire indiscriminately at Ethiopians and Yemenis crossing the border irregularly. This update report argues that while the crimes being committed are murderous and grievous, the level of inaction and impunity in the face of global exposure and condemnation should also disturb us all.

London/Denmark: Mixed Migration Centre, 2024. 9p.

By The American Immigration Council

The Torrance County Detention Facility (Torrance) is one of approximately 200 facilities across the United States where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detains immigrants with pending removal proceedings. Located in the rural New Mexico desert, this detention facility holds a notorious reputation for its inhumane living conditions and for the speed at which individuals detained there go through their removal proceedings, often without adequate legal counsel. Despite these noted abuses, in September 2021, ICE placed over 100 Haitian migrants into Torrance while they awaited removal proceedings. For months thereafter, the media continued to report on a variety of obstacles Haitians endured in detention including inadequate access to legal counsel.

Due to the increase in complaints from individuals being held at Torrance, the American Immigration Council (The Council) sought to ascertain whether particular barriers to due process exist for Haitian nationals, as well as to investigate the overall treatment of Haitian nationals at Torrance. The request sought data related to individuals detained at Torrance from January 1, 2021, including arrest/apprehension information, immigration status, biographic information, detention history, and release information. ICE responded by providing data between January 1, 2021 and November 17, 2022, and this is what we found when we analyzed it:

ICE's Use of Racial Classifications Are Unreliable, Labeling Most Detained Individuals “White:” Individuals in detention at Torrance represented 54 different countries spanning five different continents. However, 86 percent of individuals detained at Torrance were categorized as racially “white.” The data suggests that ICE failed to systematically document the race of detained individuals.

Africans Had the Highest Lengths of Detention at Torrance: Because ICE’s race categorizations proved unreliable, researchers grouped detained individuals by continent to measure the impact geographic location has on detention lengths. The data showed that African migrants had the highest lengths of detention.

ICE Officers Continued to Populate Torrance Despite Multiple Warnings: During the reviewed time period, ICE had substantial warning signs that Torrance was not equipped to house detained migrants through failed inspections, COVID surges, staffing shortages, and even

government oversight agency reports recommending shutting the facility down. Despite these warning signs, the data showed that ICE continued to detain migrants at Torrance, putting them at risk.

Oversight Efforts Seemingly Reduced the Detained Population at Torrance—But Only Temporarily: The data shows that between August and November 2022, a period that included the suicide of Kesley Vial at Torrance and a government report calling for the closing of Torrance, the population of Torrance consistently decreased. However, in December 2022, ICE began repopulating the facility.

Washington, DC: The American Immigration Council, 2024. Published: October 24, 2024

EJI’s report documents the abduction, abuse, and enslavement of Africans for nearly five centuries.

Between 1501 and 1867, nearly 13 million African people were kidnapped, forced onto European and American ships, and trafficked across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas, including the British, French, and Spanish colonies that would later comprise the United States.

Two million people died during the barbaric Middle Passage.

The global trafficking that separated millions of women, men, and children from their homes, families, and cultures destabilized African countries and left them vulnerable to conquest, colonization, and violence for centuries.

And in the Americas, a caste system based on race and color emerged in tandem with legal and political systems to codify white supremacy and enshrine enslavement as a permanent and hereditary status. That racial hierarchy continues to haunt our nation today.

The enslavement of human beings occupies a painful and tragic space in world history. Denying a person freedom, autonomy, and life represents the worst kind of abuse of human rights.

Many societies tolerated and condoned human slavery for centuries. But in the 15th century, an expanded and terrifying new era of enslavement emerged that has had a profound and devastating impact on human history.

The abduction, abuse, and enslavement of Africans by Europeans for nearly five centuries dramatically altered the global landscape and created a legacy of suffering and bigotry that can still be seen today.

After discovering lands that had been occupied by Indigenous people for centuries, European powers sent ships and armed militia to exploit these new lands for wealth and profit starting in the 1400s. In territories we now call “the Americas,” gold, sugar, tobacco, and extraordinary natural resources were viewed as opportunities to gain power and influence for Portugal, Spain, Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany, and Scandinavian nations.

Europeans first sought to enslave the Indigenous people who occupied these lands to create wealth for foreign powers, resulting in a catastrophic genocide. Disease, famine, and conflict killed millions of Native people within a relatively short period of time.

Determined to extract wealth from these distant lands, European powers sought labor from Africa, launching a tragic era of kidnapping, abduction, and trafficking that resulted in the enslavement of millions of African people.

Between 1501 and 1867, nearly 13 million African people were kidnapped, forced onto European and American ships, and trafficked across the Atlantic Ocean to be enslaved, abused, and forever separated from their homes, families, ancestors, and cultures.

The Transatlantic Slave Trade represents one of the most violent, traumatizing, and horrific eras in world history. Nearly two million people died during the barbaric Middle Passage across the ocean. The African continent was left destabilized and vulnerable to conquest and violence for centuries. The Americas became a place where race and color created a caste system defined by inequality and abuse.

In the “colonies” that became the United States, slavery took on uniquely appalling features. From New England to Texas, Black people were dehumanized and abused while they were enslaved and denied basic freedoms. Legal and political systems were created to codify racial hierarchy and ensure white supremacy. Slavery became permanent and hereditary, defined by race-based ideologies that insisted on racial subordination of Black people for decades after the formal abolition of slavery.

Millions of Black people born in the U.S. were subjected to abuse, violence, and forced labor despite the young nation’s identity as a constitutional democracy founded on the belief that “all men are created equal.” Racialized slavery was ignored, defended, or accommodated by leaders while the new nation gained extraordinary wealth and influence in the global economy based on the forced labor of enslaved Black people.

The economic legacy of the Transatlantic Slave Trade—including generational wealth and the founding of industries that continue to thrive today—is not well understood.

Montgomery, AL: Equal Justice Initiative, 2023. 150p.

By Rodante van der Waal

Reproductive injustice is an urgent global problem. We are faced with the increased criminalization of abortion, higher maternal and neonatal mortality rates for people of color, and

more and more research addressing the structural nature of obstetric violence. In this collection of essays, the cause of reproductive injustice is understood as the institutionalized isolation of (potentially) pregnant people, making them vulnerable for bio- and necropolitical disciplination and control. The central thesis of this book is that reproductive justice must be achieved through a radical reappropriation of relationality in reproductive care to safeguard the access to knowledge and care needed for safe bodily self-determination. Through empirical research as well as decolonial, feminist, midwifery, and Black theory, reproductive justice is reimagined as abolitionist care, grounded in the abolition of authoritative obstetric institutions, state control of reproduction, and restrictive abortion laws in favor of community practices that are truly relational.

Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2025. 496p.

By Nina Mast

This spotlight details the racist history of tipping, federal and state policy governing tipped work, and the experience of tipped workers in the economy—both nationwide and in the South. Across the country, tipped workers are more likely to be people of color, women, women of color, or single parents, and are disproportionately born outside of the United States. Tipped workers earn low wages, experience high rates of poverty, and are vulnerable to exploitation in the workplace—particularly in the form of wage theft and sexual harassment. The South has the largest tipped workforce of any region. Tipped workers in the South are paid the second lowest median wage of any region, and most Southern states allow employers to pay tipped workers as little as $2.13 an hour. Hispanic workers in the South are overrepresented in tipped work, as are women—who account for 70% of the tipped workforce despite making up less than half of all workers in the region.

Washington, DC: Economic Policy Institute, June 18, 2024. 14p.

By Iran Human Rights

Qarchak Prison in Varamin (Tehran province) has become one of the darkest symbols of systematic human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Originally designed as a poultry farm, the facility has been transformed into an inhumane detention centre for women prisoners, including political prisoners. The conditions in this prison not only violate international principles such as the Bangkok Rules1 and the Nelson Mandela Rules but also disregard the most basic principles of human dignity. At Qarchak, women are confined in extremely cramped spaces with inadequate ventilation and lighting. They endure unsanitary drinking water, poor-quality food, lack of adequate healthcare services, and degrading, gender-based treatment as part of their daily suffering. Qarchak is not only a prison filled with violence and abuse but also, due to severe overcrowding and lack of basic facilities, many prisoners are deprived even of sleeping space, forced to sleep on the floor. The prison is also a glaring symbol of violations against women and mothers. Mothers whose children stay with them in this hazardous and polluted environment until the age of two when they are taken into state care. Often, these mothers have no means to find out about their children’s fate. Undocumented children born in this prison are caught in a cycle of deprivation and injustice from the moment they are born. IHRNGO Director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam stated: “Qarchak Prison is a symbol of the blatant denial of humanity and human dignity. The continued operation of such facilities is a stain on the conscience of the world. Today, more than ever, we must call on the international community not to remain silent in the face of such widespread human rights violations.” By publishing this report, IHRNGO reiterates its demand for the immediate closure of Qarchak Prison and the transfer of all prisoners to facilities that meet minimum international standards. The existence of such places, especially in the 21st century, is a stark reminder that justice and human dignity are still sacrificed in many parts of the world. We call on the international community, human rights organisations, and all conscientious individuals to take action to close down Qarchak Prison. This should not merely be seen as a domestic issue; it is a test for the international community to unite in defending human dignity and rights. The closure of Qarchak Prison is a necessary step toward securing prisoners’ rights and a symbol of global commitment to justice and humanity.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) , 2024. 18p.

By Ahmed Hussain, Ayla Bonfiglio

This report focuses on the nature and dynamics of human smuggling along this Eastern Route from the Horn of Africa across the Red Sea between locations of origin in Ethiopia and points of arrival along the coast of Lahj Governorate in Yemen. It examines the role of smugglers, the services they offer, the financial aspects of the journey, and how migrants perceive their

smugglers. The study is based on 346 surveys with migrants in Lahj, Yemen and 16 with smugglers in Ethiopia.

The Eastern Route is widely regarded as among the most dangerous mixed migration routes originating from the African continent, in terms of migrants' exposure to violence, abuse, and exploitation. This report, based on 346 surveys with migrants in Lahj, Yemen and 16 with smugglers in Ethiopia, focuses on the nature and dynamics of human smuggling along this route between locations of origin in Ethiopia and points of arrival along the coast of Lahj Governorate in Yemen. It examines the role of smugglers, the services they offer, the financial aspects of the journey, and how migrants perceive their smugglers. Additionally, the report delves into the abuses associated with smugglers, migrants’ protection strategies, and the forms of assistance that migrants receive from smugglers. This study was carried out against the backdrop of reduction in recorded migrant arrivals in Yemen, not merely because of the joint military campaign in the Red Sea and anti-smuggling campaigns by Yemeni and Djiboutian coastguards since August 2023, but also owing to decreased access to data collection in key transit locations along this route. The data provide some insight into these dynamics, which is critical to informing the work of humanitarian actors and policymakers, and fundamental for developing interventions that address the vulnerabilities of migrants along this precarious route. The key findings include: • Smugglers played a limited role in influencing respondents’ migration decisions (9%) and route selection (11%) between Ethiopia and coastal departure points in Djibouti or Somalia. Indeed, more than half of the respondents (57%) stated that they were not influenced by anyone in their decision to migrate, indicating that their choice was largely self-motivated rather than driven by persuasion. • Far from being coerced into using smugglers, migrants reported hiring smugglers to make the journey easier (75%) and cheaper (45%), and they were often proactive in initiating contact (85%) themselves. • The vast majority of respondents (95%) employed the services of one smuggler on their journey to Lahj, Yemen. Of these, most (62%) employed them for one part of the journey—likely for the Red Sea crossing. • In contrast to 4Mi data from the Central Mediterranean Route or the Southern Route (towards South Africa), showing smugglers provide a range of services to migrants, the primary service provided by smugglers along this section of the Eastern Route was arranging transit across borders (99%). • On average, 97% of the respondents paid around 300 USD to the smuggler for their services, largely for the sea crossing. With an average of 100,000 migrants crossing annually, this would amount to a smuggling business worth 30 million USD annually, a significant source of income for smugglers operating out of Djibouti. • Over half of surveyed migrants (60%) paid their smuggler in full before starting the journey, which, according to past MMC research, can be a driver of vulnerability, as migrants deplete their resources at the start of the journey and fall victim to smugglers extracting further compensation. • Despite actively seeking to employ smugglers and reporting that smugglers helped them to achieve their migration goal (99%), strikingly, all migrants felt that smugglers intentionally misled them. This finding stands out for its stark contrast with other migration routes, which portray a more mixed picture of misinformation, underscoring the unique and exploitive dynamics of the Eastern Route. • Smugglers were rarely trusted (2%) by migrants as reliable sources of information; with this in mind, few respondents used smugglers as information sources before (12%) and during the journey (28%). • 72% perceived smugglers as perpetrators of abuse in dangerous locations along the route, identifying physical violence (82%), death (68%), and robbery (58%) as the top

dangers. • While smugglers were rarely regarded as trustworthy and were seen as perpetrators of abuse, only 22% of surveyed migrants viewed them as criminals. Indeed, most perceived their smugglers as service providers (64%), highlighting an inherent complexity in migrant-smuggler relationships. The same complexity can be seen in migrants’ strategies for keeping safe along the route: 18% cited hiring smugglers while 1% cited avoiding them to reduce the risk of abuse and crime.

London/Denmark: Mixed Migration Centre, 2024. 24p.

By Wilder Research

In the decade since Safe Harbor became Minnesota law, the state has built an extensive network in response to the sexual exploitation of youth, and more recently human trafficking, both sex and labor. The network spans from state and local government to Tribal Nations and community-based nonprofit programs. Founded on a public health approach within the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) in recognition of the significant health and social impacts created by exploitation and trafficking on populations, Safe Harbor also partners extensively with entities in public safety, human services, and human rights, including the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS), the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MNCASA) to offer a comprehensive multidisciplinary response. State law requires the Safe Harbor Director, based in MDH, to submit a biennial evaluation of the program to the Commissioner of Health under Minnesota Statute Section 145.4718. The purpose of the evaluation is to ensure Safe Harbor is reaching its intended participants, increasing identification of sexually exploited youth, coordinating across disciplines including law enforcement and child welfare, providing access to services, including housing, ensuring the quality of services, and utilizing penalty funds to support services. The Safe Harbor law passed in 2011 and after a three-year planning period called No Wrong Door, the Safe Harbor system was fully enacted in 2014. In the years since, Safe Harbor has submitted three evaluation reports to the legislature, beginning in 2015. Each evaluation was conducted by Wilder Research at the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation (Wilder) under a competitive contract with MDH. The evaluation process is an opportunity to hear and learn from trafficked and exploited youth as well as participants from a variety of disciplines who respond to the needs of these youth on a daily basis. For the current Phase 4 report, MDH contracted with Wilder again while MDH’s Safe Harbor Program produced accompanying evaluation materials. As a result, this Phase 4 Safe Harbor evaluation draws from complementary background reports that are combined to represent a variety of perspectives from both outside and within the Safe Harbor network. These resources not only evaluate Safe Harbor’s activities, but also address these activities in the context of significant current events including the global COVID-19 pandemic and the civil rights movement in Minnesota, as well as around the nation and world, in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. The supplemental evaluation materials, containing expanded findings, data, and appendix are contained in this document. All findings focus on the Safe Harbor network and activities between April 1, 2019, and June 30, 2021. The Wilder data collection and analysis took place between January 1, 2021, and June 30, 2021. The MDH data collection and analysis took place between September 1, 2020, and August 1, 2021. Between January 2021 and June 2021, Wilder interviewed grantees, multidisciplinary partners, and youth clients, and also surveyed youth clients to evaluate Safe Harbor. Wilder submitted its report including several findings and recommendations to MDH. Wilder found evidence for outcomes related to multidisciplinary partnership and access to services, including culturally specific services; the factors contributing to Safe Harbor’s impact; gaps and challenges; opportunities for improvement; and the pandemic’s impact on service provision. MDH analyzed the provision of the statewide Safe Harbor Regional Navigator component and the reach of the Safe Harbor Network to identify and serve youth, as well as availability, accessibility, and equity of Safe Harbor supportive services and shelter and housing, in addition to training for providers. MDH then submitted a Phase 4 evaluation report to the legislature including combined findings, recommendations, and conclusions. Summary recommendations are listed here, but included with further detail in the legislative report and within the supplemental evaluation materials included in this document: Recommended actions: ▪ Increase stakeholder ability to identify youth. ▪ Expand protections and services regardless of age and remain flexible in identifying service needs. ▪ Increase and improve access to services, especially for youth from marginalized cultures and greater Minnesota. ▪ Support more diverse and consistent staffing. ▪ Increase amount and cultural appropriateness of technical assistance, education, and training provided. ▪ Increase prevention efforts (by decreasing demand and identifying risk factors). ▪ Support improvement of more continuous, comprehensive, and robust outcome and process evaluation as well as inferential research. ▪ De-silo the response to sex and labor trafficking. ▪ Increase youth voice and opportunities within Safe Harbor. ▪ Heal organizational trauma to better help organizations, staff, and clients. ▪ Improve equity by conducting a cultural needs assessment with several cultural groups as well as strategically directing allocations of funds and resources to culturally specific groups. ▪ Strengthen relationships within the public health approach. ▪ Further promote government agency collaboration.

St. Paul, MN : Minnesota Department of Health, Safe Harbor, Violence Prevention Unit, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Division 2021. 130p.

By Anniina Jokinen, Anna-Greta Pekkarinen, Jessiina Rantanen

Forced marriage is a multifaceted phenomenon encompassing sev - eral intersecting factors that relate to situations in which individu - als are compelled to marry or stay married against their will. Forced marriage is widely recognized as a violation of human rights and in particular as a form of gender-based violence and honour-based vio - lence. The harms and negative consequences of forced marriages are multifold and challenge many service providers as well as the crimi - nal justice system. This report outlines the concrete challenges, factors and con - cepts that must be addressed when developing effective responses to tackle forced marriages and providing support to victims and persons affected. It is targeted towards various professionals and practitioners who may encounter victims of forced marriage or persons, families or communities affected by the phenomenon in their line of work. The content is based on a desk review of academic and other relevant liter - ature, as well information collected by the EASY project partners: the European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control, affiliated with the United Nations (HEUNI), University of Lleida (Spain), Associació Valentes I Acompanyades (Spain), SOLWODI (Germany), and the Im - migrant Council of Ireland, to identify approaches that have relevance in the development of effective and victim-centred interventions for victims of forced marriages. The best practices were collected mainly via semi-structured (individual or group) interviews with experts and/or survivors, that were based on a shared interview framework. The interviews were conducted in the summer and autumn of 2023.1 The experts interviewed included, e.g., NGO representatives and counsellors working with topics related to forced marriage, migrant women’s rights, honor-based violence and human trafficking, shelter/residential counsellors, government officials and policymakers, and law enforcement authorities from Finland, Germany, Ireland, and Catalonia (Spain). The survivors interviewed included, e.g., victim-survivors who work as mentors and/or had been supported by the interviewing organisation. Throughout the report there are quotes from the interviews to demonstrate the challenges, experiences and solutions identified. Table 1. Number of persons interviewed to collect best practices by each country and in total. The best practices collected were also shared and discussed with partners in a best practice workshop hosted by SOLWODI in Bonn, Germany on 20–21 November 2023. Each partner identified 4–8 best practices with a focus on themes such as proactive methods to identify victims, engaging with persons from impacted communities and reducing the risk of forced marriage; ways to support and assist victims; training and awareness-raising activities targeting professionals; multi-agency collaboration at local, national and international levels; and municipal, regional or national strategies to tackle or address honor-related violence and/or forced marriages. Ten of the collected best practices were selected and summarised for this publication. Moreover, in early 2024, the EASY project partners launched a legislative overview which presents the results of comparative desk research on the legal approach to forced marriage in Germany, Finland, Ireland and Spain (Villacampa and Salat 2023). Therefore, this report does not cover legislative frameworks and procedures in place in the four countries to address forced marriages and to protect the victims as they are covered in detail in the legislative overview. The two reports are complimentary. The ultimate aim of the EASY project is to enhance support for victims/survivors of forced marriage and strengthen the work against forced marriage in the four partner countries.

Helsinki: European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control, affiliated with the United Nations (HEUNI) HEUNI, 2024. 58p.

By Human Rights Watch

In December 2024, Saudi Arabia will be awarded the 2034 Men’s World Cup hosting rights, which FIFA has engineered without competition. The tournament is just one of many massive, planned projects requiring immense construction under Vision 2030, such as the $500 billion futuristic NEOM city. “Die First, and I’ll Pay You Later” shows how migrant workers continue to face widespread abuses across employment sectors and geographic regions including exorbitant recruitment fees, wage theft, job immobility, inadequate heat protections and uninvestigated deaths. Saudi authorities promised labor reforms, but the report based on interviews with more than 150 migrant workers and their families shows how Saudi authorities are systematically failing to protect migrant workers and remedy abuses. Migrant workers are the human engine of Saudi Arabia’s massive construction boom. There are 13.4 million migrant workers in the country and planned projects will result in millions more. The report shows how businesses and giga-projects funded by or linked to the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the country’s sovereign wealth fund, are among those exploiting and abusing migrant workers. This blatant failure to protect workers creates a near certainty that the 2034 World Cup will come at a large human cost. The report includes recommendations to the governments of Saudi Arabia and migrant origin countries, as well as to relevant international entities including FIFA, sponsors and businesses looking to profit from Saudi Arabia’s mega- and giga-projects.  

New York: Human Rights Watch, 2024. 130p.

By Human Rights Watch

The Rwandan government has long presided over the torture and ill-treatment of detainees, whether held in official or unofficial detention facilities across the country. In “They Threw Me in the Water”: The Need for Accountability for Torture in Rwanda, Human Rights Watch documents an array of serious human rights abuses, including torture, in detention facilities in Kigali and the west of the country. The case of Innocent Kayumba, the former director of Rubavu and Nyarugenge prisons, convicted on April 5, 2024, for the assault and murder of a detainee at Rubavu prison in 2019 underscores serious failings in the Rwandan judiciary’s response to evidence of torture. The judiciary, as well as the national human rights institution, have largely failed to investigate or address repeated and credible allegations of torture made by detainees and former detainees since at least 2017. While Kayumba’s trial is a significant first step towards breaking the near total impunity around abuse in detention, much more is needed for Rwanda to end the practice and hold accountable those responsible for torture and other ill-treatments in prisons and unofficial detention facilities. Rwanda should comply with the provisions of its own constitution and fulfill its obligations under international human rights law by urgently conducting a comprehensive investigation into torture in prisons, that is capable of leading to both accountability and redress for victims.

New York: Human Rights Watch, 2024. 39p.

By The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE)

Women and girls are more likely to be the targets of cyber violence on digital platforms and, as a result, they experience significant physical, sexual and psychological distress and/or financial difficulties. ▪ There is limited provision in digital platforms’ standards and trust and safety policies for keeping users safe from gender-related cyber violence online, despite the high incidence of this phenomenon. ▪ The standards and trust and safety policies of the platforms make little reference to relevant human rights acts or important legislative advances in the fight against gender-based violence and cyber violence. ▪ Digital platforms dealing with the significant challenges of cyber violence acts and behaviours would benefit from greater collaboration across platforms. This would enable cross-platform reporting and the harmonisation of the wide variety of definitions of cyber violence. ▪ Digital platforms do not have cyber violence data that is disaggregated by sex available for incident reporting, response and followup practices. This renders the assessment of the true extent of cyber violence acts and behaviours against women and girls challenging. More transparency is needed in relation to moderation and follow-up practices. ▪ This lack of a gender-sensitive approach at the level of reporting, recording and responding to different forms of violence online renders the scale of the phenomenon of cyber violence against women and girls largely invisible and contributes to obscuring its dynamics.

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2024 22p.

By Pisarevskaya, Asya and Scholten, Peter

This open access book develops a typology of cities by exploring how current levels of migration-related diversity and segregation relate to three groups of factors: international mobilities, inequalities and political-institutional aspects of local governance. Based on both quantitative and qualitative data from 16 cities in four European countries (France, Germany, The Netherlands, and Italy), the book compares the cities and uses a method of fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis. It demonstrates the shared contingencies of factors among the cities within each type and the crucial differences between the types of localities, and offers a more differentiated, holistic understanding of migration-related diversity configurations through the five conceptualised types: (1) Superdiverse cities, (2) Postindustrial diverse cities. (3) Middle class diverse cities, (4) Divided cities, and (5) Marginal migration cities. As such, the book is a valuable read to all those who would like to learn more about urban migration-related diversity and how it is formed and governed.

Cham: Springer Nature, 2025, 225p.

By U.S. Department of Justice,  Office of Justice Programs,  Bureau of Justice Statistics

This report details ongoing and completed efforts to measure and analyze the nationwide incidence of human trafficking, to describe characteristics of human trafficking victims and offenders, and to describe criminal justice responses to human trafficking offenses. The report provides information on human trafficking investigated and prosecuted by U.S. attorneys, human trafficking defendants convicted and sentenced to federal prison, and admissions to state prison for human trafficking.

Highlights

• A total of 1,912 persons were referred to U.S. attorneys for human trafficking offenses in fiscal year 2022, a 26% increase from the 1,519 persons referred in 2012.  

• The number of persons prosecuted for human trafficking more than doubled from 2012 to 2022 (from 805 to 1,656 persons). The number of persons convicted of a human trafficking offense increased from 578 persons in 2012 to 1,118 persons in 2022. 

• Of the 1,070 defendants charged with any of the three types of human trafficking offenses in U.S. district court in fiscal year 2022, 91% were male, 58% were white, 20% were black, 18% were Hispanic, 95% were U.S. citizens, and 71% had no prior convictions. 

• Of the 203 defendants charged with peonage, slavery, forced labor, and sex trafficking, 69% were male and 53% were black. In comparison, of the 523 defendants charged with sexual exploitation and other abuse of children, 94% were male and 71% were white.

Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics 2024. 7p.   

By Vinícius Venancio

Inspired by Lélia Gonzalez’s essay “Racism and Sexism in Brazilian Culture”, this working paper turns to another post-colonial nation, Cape Verde, and analyzes two case studies that shed light upon how the intersection between race and gender produces specific forms of violence in the bodies and souls of men and women from continental Africa living in the capital, Praia. The first case examines personal stories of young women who are exploited for their domestic labor; while their relationship with their employer is presented using the discourse of kinship, their situation is more akin to slavery. The second case looks at attacks on and murder of Bissau-Guinean men; the brutality of the violence and the lack of public attention demonstrate how some lives are considered more valuable than others. Both cases illustrate the degree to which race and gender continue to operate as social markers of domination in the lives of immigrant populations who are seen as blacker than the locals in Cape Verde.

Working Papers v. 213 (2024): 1-24.

By Andrea Nichols and  Erin Heil

The current academic discourse examining human trafficking is lacking in focus on survivors with a disability. The increased likelihood of abuse experienced by people with a disability is well documented in the research literature, and a small body of research indicates heightened sex trafficking victimization of minor girls with a disability. Yet, very little research specifically examines sex and/or labor trafficking of people with a disability, and no systematic research analyzes prosecuted cases of trafficking with disability as the focal point of analysis. Drawing from a content analysis of 18 federal and 17 state cases of human trafficking, the current study specifically aimed to increase our understandings of sex and labor trafficking involving survivors with a disability. The findings revealed the following patterns and themes: 1) the type of trafficking experienced (sex, labor, or both), 2) whether state level or federal cases 3) the types of disabilities identified among trafficking survivors, 4) the nature of the relationship between traffickers and survivors, 5) methods of recruitment, 6) case outcomes; and 7) demographic characteristics of traffickers and survivors (e.g., gender/citizenship). Implications include prevention efforts in the form of developmentally grounded sex education and healthy relationships curriculum for survivors with an intellectual disability, as well as specialized anti-trafficking training for those in legal, healthcare, and social services that is inclusive of people with a disability  

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence: Vol. 7: Iss. 1, Article 1.