Racial inequities mean Black kids increasingly grow up without fathers in the US. Reparations could break the cycle. Read the latest piece in our series on reparations for racial injustice ⤵️ www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

The US is built on stolen labour. It’s time to settle the debt ✍️ Richard Wallace, Equity and Transformation Read part 4 of our series ⤵️ www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

Everybody knows the Libyan Coast Guard is involved in the mass abuse/torture/murder of people in Libya. Over the years this hasn't been enough for the EU to break off its partnership. The LCG is now targeting NGOs - apparently that used to be a Commission red line, but we'll see if it still is.

The Libyan Coast Guard fired hundreds of bullets at a rescue ship. The European Commission had suggested direct fire would be a ‘red line’. Now the line has been crossed, they show no signs of ending the partnership with Libya. ✍️ @freylindsay.bsky.social www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

Prison labour: the last stronghold of slavery in the US

Black Americans are disproportionately incarcerated and exploited with prison labour. It’s time to finish the work of abolition ✍️ @biancatylek.bsky.social ⤵️ www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

The ACLU of Louisiana transferred wealth from the slave trade to survivors of racist policing. It’s a template for reparative justice ⤵️ www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

Slavery caused stark wealth inequalities in the US – now that wealth must be returned to its rightful owners ✍️ Nika Soon-Shiong at the Fund for Guaranteed Income ⤵️ www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

On Sunday, the migrant rescue ship Ocean Viking was attacked by armed men in international waters. The assailants: the Libyan Coast Guard, sponsored by the European Union to police the Mediterranean.

“Ultimately workers and employers both need to know that the workers have the option to withdraw their labour and find another job, and won’t lose their immigration status or risk destitution if they are unable to work" - @focusonlabour.bsky.social, in this new piece by @freylindsay.bsky.social

Kate Roberts @focusonlabour.bsky.social says the Employment Rights Bill (due back in parliament) “won’t do much” for seasonal workers. She says it's essentially incompatible with Labour’s commitment to improving labour standards. ✍️ @freylindsay.bsky.social

With the Employment Rights Bill shortly pack in parliament the UK needs to make sure that restrictive work visas don't leave workers unable to access rights. All workers, including those on the UK's seasonal worker visa, need to be able to access rights in practice

Migrant workers’ legal precarity reveals the incompatibility of Labour’s policies on worker’s rights and immigration. How seasonal workers continue to face exploitation as the visa scheme expands ✍️ @freylindsay.bsky.social ⤵️ www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

Women working on UK farms report sexual harassment and financial insecurity

Global leaders must finally stand up to Israel before it’s too late for Gaza

Outdated laws and benefit cuts: Why women can’t leave sex work

Poverty and cautions trap women in sex work – good policies could resolve this. But politicians don't want to know. From Niki Adams at the English Collective of Prostitutes ⤵️ www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

Laura Bates' book The New Age of Sexism takes a sobering look at how tech accelerates misogyny. But the book makes a pretty glaring failure, in that it overlooks the very real and harmful impact that AI has on sex workers. Which should be the real story.

Forced to work on an overheated planet

"They were being forced to pick when smoke and fire were everywhere" Workers on the front lines of climate change are treated as expendable. This is morally bankrupt and unsustainable 🌎⤵️ www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

No market for abuse: how import bans fight back against forced labour

We recently published a piece arguing that the provenance of import bans should give the activists promoting them pause for thought. @htlegalcenter.bsky.social responds ⤵️ www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

Delivery riders caught between algorithms and immigration raids

Between exploitative algorithms and Labour’s war on illegal work, migrant delivery riders are struggling to survive ⤵️ www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

The UK government’s failed rematching scheme shows that ministers fundamentally misunderstand the reality of care work ⤵️⤵️ www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

Visa reform is the minimum owed to exploited care workers

Asylum seekers would be better off if the UK's modern slavery identification system did not exist. Read the opinion ⤵️ www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

Identifying ‘modern slavery’ can damage asylum claims

This new article on @beyondslavery.bsky.social demonstrates how the UK National Referral Mechanism for victims of #humantrafficking does damage to their asylum claims. It's partly based on an excellent article we published in 2024 (this one antitraffickingreview.org/index.php/at...)

What do borders teach us about ourselves? Hüseyin Ovayolu's moving photo essay spans 12 countries in an exploration of movement, exile, and the search for 'home'. www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

Such a sharp and insightful piece on the politics of how victimhood is (mis)used in anti-trafficking. By @hannahjlewis.bsky.social for @beyondslavery.bsky.social

Why has victimhood endured for so long in anti-trafficking despite it being understood as dehumanising and damaging? And where do we go from here? My blog for @beyondslavery.bsky.social Open Democracy blog 10th Anniversary is now out! An honour to be part of a set of important interventions.

Interesting article from my colleague @hannahjlewis.bsky.social on the politics of victimhood in modern slavery and trafficking

“Put a man on the front of our magazine and our donations will drop.” On who gets to be a victim, and why anti-trafficking orgs haven't yet abandoned rescue narratives ✍️ @hannahjlewis.bsky.social www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

"New deterrents” are not the solution. This new deal will cause considerable further harm, resulting in the forcible transfer of people back to France. Read @vickytaylor.bsky.social's new piece for @opendemocracy.net :

Don’t be fooled by Labour’s show of providing safe migration routes. It’s justifying a cruel trade in people. ✍️ @vickytaylor.bsky.social www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

EU AI regulations position themselves as human-centred. But priorities shift when it comes to 'border security'. Read the new blog post by Stefka Schmid and Julia Mahlberg ⤵️ blogs.law.ox.ac.uk/border-crimi...

Child sexual abuse is being weaponised by the far-right. The left needs to tackle the lies head on. Read the interview with author Louise Raw 👇 bit.ly/3GxC4SU

Global inequality is the World Bank’s elephant in the room

We can't keep ignoring human trafficking in war

"In the two decades since the ICC was established, the court has not once prosecuted someone for trafficking." We can't keep ignoring human trafficking in war. Read the piece by legal expert Julia Muraszkiewicz ⬇️ www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

Are grooming gangs the far right’s golden goose?

Are grooming gangs the far right’s golden goose? Continuing our 10 year anniversary series – read the interview with Louise Raw ⤵️ www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

Forced labour bans: protecting rights or markets? 🍅 Read the next piece in our 10 year anniversary series ⤵️ www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

Me for Metro: The crucial point is deterrence & border violence has never & will never work We need safe routes & the right to work legally for asylum seekers - IT IS SCREAMINGLY OBVIOUS But pressure might be working, we must press harder than ever for a humane policy💪 metro.co.uk/2025/07/02/a...

[New blog 🖋️] Belgian's legal framework for migrant solidarity has long been viewed as more protective than elsewhere. But civil society are increasingly being criminalised there. blogs.law.ox.ac.uk/border-crimi...

The World Bank says it can fight poverty through technical solutions. But poverty is inherently political ✍️ @alfnilsen.bsky.social Read the story 💰⤵️ www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

The pipeline from child trafficking to prison or death that SPACE describes is utterly chilling. Exploited children & young people deserve so much better. Thank you @countylinescce.bsky.social for speaking to us @beyondslavery.bsky.social

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Children across the UK are used to sell drugs, and the state appears more interested in arresting them than helping them. Read the interview 👇 www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...