Evidence on the intersection of climate change, migration and vulnerability to modern slavery
Cyclones, flooding, landslides and environmental degradation have caused loss and financial hardship for many people, particularly in coastal regions.
Research has found cases of human trafficking for forced labour, including forced commercial sexual exploitation and debt bondage, and forced marriage. Men often migrate to more urban areas or abroad for work, leaving women behind. This can put women and girls at higher risk of human trafficking for forced commercial sexual exploitation.
Human traffickers also target communities in disaster-affected coastal regions and migrants trying to cross the border to India. Those who stay behind are often at risk of forced labour, including debt bondage.
This document provides an overview of human trafficking in Bangladesh. It recognises that the impacts of climate change are key drivers of human trafficking, given that people affected by extreme climate change events are directly targeted by traffickers. Climate change also exacerbates precariousness and need, pushing people to migrate in search of opportunities and making them more vulnerable to human trafficking.
View detail about First National Study on Trafficking in Persons in Bangladesh
This document looks at the impact of climate change on human trafficking from a gender perspective.
This source demonstrates how climate change heightens vulnerability to human trafficking, using examples from the Philippines, Bangladesh, the Caribbean Islands and Ghana. It notes that no systematic global analysis has been conducted to assess the impact of climate change on human trafficking.
View detail about Global Report on Trafficking in Persons (Bangladesh)
This source, drawing on research on Ghana and the Sundarbans region, shows how the negative effects of climate change force people into unsafe migration and increase their vulnerability to forced marriage, debt-bondage, forced labour and human trafficking. It explains how women and children who stay back are also at risk of modern slavery. Families use harmful traditional practices (such as forced marriage) to cope with the negative effects of climate change. Girls and young women who try to escape can be driven to take unsafe migration routes, increasing their exposure to modern slavery. Access to resources and information is key to improving people's resilient and ability to adapt to climate change.