Modern slavery is a children’s rights issue. Children’s rights are implicated before, during, and after exploitation. Yet, academic literature on modern slavery and exploitation rarely addresses children’s rights.
A systematic evidence review, for a project funded by the ILO and IOM ‘Research to Action’ scheme, examined academic literature at the intersection of two historically separate fields – modern slavery, and children’s rights – published between 2000 and 2022. It revealed a significant paucity of meaningful engagement across the two fields. The review identified 7,267 records that related in some way to modern slavery or children’s rights, with an increase in such literature published within this timeframe (18 records in 2000, and 119 in 2021). However, only 345 records were progressed for further analysis largely due to a lack of engagement with both fields. This shows that although modern slavery is a children’s rights issue, academic literature is neglecting to address children’s rights. This has significant implications for the development of legislation, policy, rehabilitation and prevention programmes, and practice. It is also revealing of a breach of children’s rights. Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child requires that children’s voices are heard in relation to all matters affecting them. Children’s voices should therefore be informing practices that intend to prevent, end, or lessen the impacts of modern slavery. If this was so, it would not be possible to discuss modern slavery, and in particular the modern slavery of children, without addressing topics relating to children’s rights.