Research commissioned by the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre (PEC), conducted by the Universities of Liverpool and Nottingham, examined ethical challenges in modern slavery and human trafficking research and explored how inclusive, trauma-informed, and ethically robust practices can enhance both research quality and outcomes for participants.
The study identifies four critical areas for improvement: ethical governance, co-production and participatory methods, trauma-informed approaches, and ethical legacies. It highlights the need for reform in institutional structures, clearer onboarding for lived experience experts, specialised training on trauma-informed approaches, and a need to consider the legacies of research – both benefits and challenges - for all participants from the outset of projects.
The report recommends considering how to move beyond established often top-down ethics frameworks and adopt flexible and inclusive culture of continuous improvement and open dialogue, with structural changes necessary in the longer-term.
This podcast is a recording of the lunchtime seminar, at which dr Wendy Asquith from the University of Liverpool, who is also a Co-Investigator at the Modern Slavery and Human Rights PEC, presented the findings to open up a conversation on how to improve the ethics of the modern slavery research.
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You can read more about the report by clicking the button below.
The Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre (PEC) works to transform the effectiveness of laws and policies designed to address modern slavery by funding and producing research on modern slavery with a focus on policy impact. We are part of the Humanities Division at the University of Oxford, and we’re funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
