Preface

Preface to Volume 7 Issue 1 of the UCL Journal of Law and Jurisprudenc

Preface

Preface to the Volume 7(2) of the UCL Journal of Law and Jurisprudenc

Reflecting on Crisis: Ethics of Dis/Engagement in Migration Research

This article offers a collective “gaze from within” the process of migration research, on the effects the pandemic has had on our interlocutors, our research fields, and our positionalities as researchers. Drawing from our experiences of researching a field in increasing crisis, and following the methodological reflections of the article written by our colleagues in this issue, we discuss a number of dilemmas and repositionings stemming from—and extending beyond—the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Focusing on issues of positionality, ethics of (dis)engaging from the research field, and the underlying extractivist nature of Global North academia, we propose our own vision of more egalitarian and engaged research ethics and qualitative methodologies in the post-pandemic world

UK agriculture and care visas: worker exploitation and obstacles to redress

This is a summary of research conducted by five academics (led by Primary Investigator Dr Inga Thiemann) in partnership with four non-governmental organisations (NGOs): Focus on Labour Exploitation (FLEX), Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI), Southeast and East Asian Centre (SEEAC) and Kanlungan Filipino Consortium (Kanlungan), with support from UNISON. The project was funded through an open call for proposals by the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre (Modern Slavery PEC), which in turn is funded and supported by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). The Modern Slavery PEC has actively supported the production of this Research Summary. However, the views expressed in this summary and the full report are those of the authors and not necessarily of the funders

Rationale and recommendations on decolonising the pedagogy and curriculum of the Law School at the University of Exeter

This report outlines the rationale behind and recommendations on the steps that need to be taken towards decolonising the Law School's pedagogy and curriculum. The reason is that we see decolonisation as not something that can be achieved but as an ongoing process. It concludes a two-year process of research and discussions involving a joint effort between staff and students. A rationale for a change in approach to both pedagogy and curriculum is presented together with recommendations and practical examples of how this might be achieved in modular teaching in the Law School

Migrant Work, Gender, and the Hostile Environment: A Human Rights Analysis

This article addresses work-related and gendered harms of the ‘hostile environment,’ a set of measures implemented through the Immigration Acts of 2014 and 2016, which aims to make life in the UK impossible for irregular migrants. The hostile environment criminalises work without legal status, facilitates data sharing between public bodies and immigration enforcement and restricts access services and benefits. The article examines factors that can make women susceptible to irregularity and exposure to hostile environment measures, and distinctive forms of gendered harm such as workplace sexual harassment. It argues that the detrimental impacts of the hostile environment contravene international and regional human rights obligations. Barring certain migrants from access to the labour market may violate the socio-economic right to work and / or the right to private and family life, while a lack of access to legal remedy or labour inspection fuelled can violate migrants’ right to decent work and undermine protections against forced labour. The UK’s recent ratification of the Council of Europe’s ‘Istanbul Convention’ and ILO Convention 190 on violence and harassment at work signifies a renewed commitment to safeguarding women regardless of migration status, but their universalistic potential is undermined by the hostile environment’s continued operation