A new funding program offers grants for journalists investigating the exploitation of Asian trafficking victims in Europe
New funding becomes available to journalists reporting on the exploitation of Asians in Europe, RENATE examines legal assistance for trafficking victims in six European countries, and GAATW discusses the potential harm that anti-trafficking policies can cause to sex workers.
A new grant program from Journalismfund.eu aims to facilitate independent journalistic investigation into the exploitation of Asian victims of human trafficking and forced labour in Europe. The project comprises a grant program for investigative journalists, a mentor program for grantees, and a training program for journalists and civil society groups.
Journalismfund.eu is a Brussels-based independent non‐profit organization, dedicated to advancing independent cross-border investigations. It administers grants designed to foster exemplary investigative journalism throughout Europe and beyond and to promote journalistic innovation. The group acts as an intermediary and firewall between donors and journalists, enabling grantors to finance investigations without affecting journalists’ credibility or independence.
Funded by Porticus, the Modern Slavery Unveiled project aims to provide critical resources and know-how to journalists researching modern slavery in Europe. Cross-border teams of professional journalists can apply for grants to cover the working time and/or expenses needed to investigate, document and expose forced labour, cross-continental trafficking, and other issues related to the exploitation of Asian victims in Europe.
For teams requiring support for a specific aspect of their investigation, a mentor can be appointed. Mentors are selected based on either the focus of investigation or the need for a specific skill. Help and advice from more experienced colleagues can have a significant positive influence on a team and story, particularly for journalists who are less experienced in the field of transnational investigative stories.
Journalismfund.eu will collaborate with several partners, in particular with the Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN).
For the next stage of the project, Journalismfund.eu will launch a training program for journalists and civil society organizations, with topics to include security, knowledge of human trafficking, project management, cross-border investigations, and dissemination and impact maximization.
The deadline for applications is 16 September 2021, and teams of professional journalists from Europe and/or Asia are eligible to apply. Team members from other continents are also eligible, provided their investigation focuses on an aspect of the exploitation of Asian victims of forced labour in Europe.
If you are interested in applying but do not yet have a teammate to collaborate with, please let us know. We will do our best to help pair you with other interested Freedom Collaborative members or contacts. Also have a look at this list of journalists.
Journalismfund.eu is happy to discuss your project ideas or to answer any questions you might have about your application. Please reach out to them via email.
Here’s a round-up of other noteworthy news and initiatives:
RENATE has launched its latest research report, entitled Legal Assistance for Victims of Trafficking across Europe with Special reference to six European Countries, examining the provision of legal assistance to victims of trafficking in Albania, Bulgaria, England and Wales, Germany, Romania and Spain. The research acknowledges that efforts to eliminate human trafficking and exploitation amongst the six countries vary widely, and concerns are expressed for the lack of positive results.
A new investigation by Thomson Reuters Foundation reveals how Operation Welcome, Brazil’s aid program for arrivals from Venezuela, is failing to protect migrant workers from exploitation. Since 2018, the operation has overseen humanitarian aid and a resettlement program that helps Venezuelans to relocate to better shelters in other parts of Brazil, move in with family or friends, or find work with companies that apply to participate – however, the reality does not always match expectations or promises made.
Against a backdrop of the widespread exploitation of Bangladeshi workers in South and Southeast Asia, and their unabated trafficking into Africa, Europe and America, the government of Bangladesh should intensify its counter-trafficking mechanism and punish human traffickers, local and international stakeholders have said.
In a new podcast episode, GAATW (Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women) speaks with Diane and Jackie, two sex workers from the Philippines. They discuss how anti-trafficking policies in the country have not helped to reduce human trafficking or support victims, but have led to multiple violations of the rights of women who exchange sexual services for money of their own free will.
The Cambodian Ministry of Interior has reiterated its call for people to refrain from crossing the border to find work in Thailand amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The call came as the authorities reported a noticeable increase in prosecutions for human trafficking, with nearly 200 cases recorded in the first six months of this year compared with just over 60 cases in the same period last year.
Australian research has shown that the use of technology to perpetrate violence against women is a rapidly growing and serious problem. The study found that, in the experience of support service workers who deal with issues of domestic and sexual violence, technology-facilitated abuse is a significant and gendered problem with victims facing significant impacts and barriers to seeking help.
The number of migrants and refugees who died while attempting to reach Europe on dangerous sea crossings has more than doubled so far this year compared with the first six months of 2020, the U.N. migration agency has said in a new report.
This is the final week of GFEMS #PointofImpact campaign. If you haven’t yet shared your thoughts on making an impact in the fight to end modern slavery, please join them as we prepare for World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. You can see all GFEMS stories on its website, Twitter and LinkedIn pages.
On 28 July, join a discussion on fair recruitment, which will draw on FairSquare’s Five Corridors Project findings on the steps the governments of Nepal, Kuwait and Qatar are currently taking to protect workers throughout the migration cycle.
The Cambodia Counter Trafficking in Persons (CTIP) program implemented by Winrock International and USAID is calling for concept notes from civil society organizations and prospective grantees to help implement activities aimed at livelihood development, soft skills training, and promotion of safe migration among at-risk populations and returned migrants in Cambodia.
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