Reflect Project - Economic data collection and country consultation

Rights Lab project lead: Katarina Schwarz
Funder: ILO
Duration: October 2022 - February 2023 
Programme: Law and Policy Programme

According to the latest global estimate, in 2016 over 25 million individuals were victims of forced labor, including forced labor in the private economy, forced sexual exploitation, and state-imposed forced labor (ILO, Walk Free & IOM). Since the release of the global estimates, stakeholders at local, national, and global levels have put forth a great deal of effort to accelerate action toward ending forced labor, and human trafficking for forced labor.  

Still, little is known about what level of targeted financial resourcing is needed to end forced labor globally. In order to take effective action, governments, civil society, and donors must understand how much funding is required and how it can be effectively distributed across interventions to tackle different forms of forced labor. To assist political actors committed to stepping up levels of engagement in the fight against forced labor, in a targeted, evidence-driven way, the following questions must be addressed: 

1. How much does it cost to eradicate forced labor (locally, nationally, globally)? 

2. How do costs differ between various types of interventions aimed at protecting diverse populations, over time? 

3. Where can policy actors direct resources, domestically and internationally, in order to make the biggest impact on eradication? And what is the best strategy for mobilizing these resources? 

The Research on Forced Labour Eradication Cost (REFLECT) project aims to provide these answers by estimating the cost of interventions needed to provide effective prevention, protection, remedies, and enforcement measures to all those impacted by forced labor exploitation.