The war in Ukraine and associated risks of human trafficking and exploitation: Insights from an evidence-gathering roundtable

On 24 February 2022 the Russian Federation launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It marked a major escalation in the conflict in Ukraine’s Donbas region that has been ongoing since Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014. Many millions of people have been displaced both within Ukraine and beyond its borders. Faced with one of the fastest growing refugee situations in recent history, countries across Europe and beyond have taken decisive action to support people fleeing this conflict. In addition to foreign policy responses, such as coordinated international sanctions on Russia, military support and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, both state and non-state actors are increasingly turning their minds to how to prevent this clear humanitarian crisis from turning into a human trafficking crisis

Corruption and control: a corruption reduction approach

Published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13590791211266377Purpose – Corruption is a significant financial crime which is estimated by the World Economic Forum to cost about 5 per cent of global GDP or $2.6 trillion dollars. Explanations of corruption, like explanations of crime, tend to focus on the individuals who commit corruption and the wider conditions which give rise to corrupt behaviour. Approaches designed to reduce corruption usually propose stiffer sanctions, institutional reforms and the passing of new laws. The purpose of this paper is to outline a complementary perspective with which to consider corruption. Design/methodology/approach – Grounded in situational crime prevention and related criminological theory, the paper argues that opportunities in the immediate environment play a causal role in generating corruption. It proposes that corruption can be minimised by removing or reducing opportunities which are conducive to corrupt behaviour. In total, five cases are chosen as illustrative examples of how situational crime prevention might usefully be applied to corruption, focussing on the Type, Activities, Sectors and Places (TASP) that comprise corruption events. Findings – A framework is developed for the empirical study of corruption in local settings. Originality/value – The paper explores how situational crime prevention can usefully inform the analysis and prevention of corruption

Corruption and control: A corruption reduction approach

Purpose - Corruption is a significant financial crime which is estimated by the World Economic Forum to cost about 5 per cent of global GDP or $2.6 trillion dollars. Explanations of corruption, like explanations of crime, tend to focus on the individual

The Trade and Gender Nexus in Pakistan

Contemporary trade policy has been driven by an apparent consensus regarding the employment-related benefits of economic openness and export-led growth that often ignores their dispersion by sector and gender. Whilst trade may be an enabling mechanism for the most capable workers in formal sectors, it may also exclude or relegate others to less visible informal workplaces. To appreciate the processes and perceptions underlying these differential outcomes, this research paper investigates the stories of Pakistani women as workers, farmers and entrepreneurs across a range of economic sectors. Through this lens we supplement the literature that focuses on the structure of trade and the economy by the thoughts of female participants themselves. We identify systematic but often hidden obstacles to female employment and entrepreneurial opportunities across the entire socioeconomic spectrum. These include visible issues (such as capacity building) as well as less but equally important visible ones (such as implicit institutional bias). We find these are manifest not only in terms of human capacity building but effective capacity utilisation. This paper thereby offers insights into the complexities of gender-related aspects of employment and trade

War, Displacement, and Human Trafficking and Exploitation: Findings from an evidence-gathering Roundtable in Response to the War in Ukraine

Millions of people have been displaced following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Despite increasing concerns about the associated risks of human trafficking and exploitation, evidence remains sparse. To address this gap, and explore relevant experiences and perspectives, we co-convened an international online roundtable together with the UK’s Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner. The roundtable addressed emergent issues, key concerns and recommendations, with a particular focus on the UK’s response to people fleeing Ukraine. Over one hundred people from various professional backgrounds including healthcare, lawyers, charities, law enforcement, policy makers and academics participated. Qualitative thematic analysis identified five major themes: 1) conflict can create and compound opportunities for trafficking and exploitation; 2) the UK’s visa-based response to Ukrainian refugees lacks clarity, resourcing and accountability; 3) information gaps and overloads, both for people seeking sanctuary and those supporting them, can exacerbate risks of trafficking and exploitation; 4) insecurity, fear and the broader political climate around immigration and asylum create challenging conditions to respond; and 5) longer-term strategic planning around displaced Ukrainians is vital but appears lacking. Here, we discuss the key findings from the roundtable, situating them within the broader literature and reflecting critically on their implications for evidence-gathering, research, policy and practice

Evidence-based policing and police receptivity to research: evidence from Taiwan

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate how evidence-based policing (EBP) is understood by police officers and citizens in Taiwan and the influence of police education on police recruit's receptivity to research evidence in policing. / Design/methodology/approach: The study uses a cross-sectional design that includes Taiwanese police officers (n = 671) and a control group of Taiwanese criminology undergraduate students (n = 85). A research instrument covering five themes is developed, and after a pilot test the final scale remains 14 items. / Findings: The analysis suggests that police officers in Taiwan generally hold a positive view towards the role of research and researchers in policing, more so than is often observed in similar studies conducted in Western countries. Receptivity to research was found to be significantly higher among the non-police sample compared to the police sample. Moreover, time spent in police education was significantly associated with lower levels of receptivity to research. / Originality/value: The paper makes two original contributions to the literature on police officer receptivity to research. It is the first paper to (1) empirically examine police officers' openness to, and use of research in an Asian setting and (2) to compare police officers' receptivity to research with those of a relevant non-police group