We believe the best action to prevent labour exploitation and to identify and support survivors will be designed based on evidence from those affected and at-risk.

Our wide range of research covers the following areas:

• the UK labour market and the experiences of at-risk workers
• the experiences of trafficked persons’ engagement with state agencies
• corporate reporting and mechanisms for addressing human trafficking in supply chains

Pioneering participatory approaches

FLEX believes partnership with, and participation of, those affected by labour abuse and exploitation is crucial to effective research. For this reason, we have been developing and pioneering participatory approaches to research on human trafficking for labour exploitation.

In 2018, we developed a ‘community researcher methodology’, working with London construction workers to enable them to research the experiences of their own communities and raise their voices for change. 

In the same year, we embarked on two ambitious three-year feminist participatory action research (FPAR) projects. This methodology overturns power dynamics and assumptions in conventional approaches to centre the voice and experience of those affected: they are partners in research rather than ‘subjects’. You can read more about this approach in our webpiece here. 

Some key research publications are listed below, and you can find all our publications here. 

• The Risks of Exploitation in Temporary Migration Programmes (2019)
• Detaining Victims: Human Trafficking and the UK Immigration Detention System (2019) (created with the Labour Exploitation Advisory Group)
• Full Disclosure: towards better modern slavery reporting (2019) (in partnership with the International Corporate Accountability Roundtable)
• Seeing Through Transparency: making corporate accountability work for workers (2018)
• Shaky Foundations: labour exploitation in London's construction sector (2018)
• Risky Business: tackling exploitation in the UK labour market (2017)