When we say that poverty is a root cause of forced labour, we are really saying that we understand the poor to be pushed into situations of exploitative or forced work by the fact that they lack viable alternatives.
Confronting the root causes of forced labour: the meaning of freedom
Where does the force in 'forced labour' come from? Those who believe that poverty and globalisation are the root causes of forced labour need a broader understanding of freedom and coercion.
Cameron Thibos
Cameron Thibos is the managing editor of Beyond Trafficking and Slavery. He is a former research associate at the Migration Policy Centre of the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, and holds a D.Phil from the Department of International Development at the University of Oxford.
Neil Howard
Neil Howard is an academic activist and Prize Fellow at the University of Bath. His research focuses on unfree labour, and on the workings of the policy establishment as it seeks to respond. Follow him on twitter @NeilPHoward.
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