Is Trafficking Slavery? Anti-Slavery International in the Twenty-first Century

Wong, Wendy H.

doi:10.1007/s12142-010-0189-0

Cited by 10 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Lack of awareness of these mechanisms and how they combine in global projects, such as eradicating modern slavery (United Nations, 2018; International Labour Organisation, 2018), might lead to unexpected costs when regulative, cognitive-cultural and/or normative institutions are misunderstood (Orr and Scott, 2008). Wong (2011) sounds an additional word of caution because of the mix of institutional issues being addressed in modern slavery, such as forced, bonded and child labour, when a focus on greater granularity might lead to more effective regulation. This said, institutional theory offers a suitable lens for addressing management response to modern slavery issues and the paper adopts institutional theory as developed originally by DiMaggio and Powell (1983).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accounting for modern slavery: an analysis of Australian listed company disclosures

Christ

Rao

Burritt

2019

AAAJ

110

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Purpose Given the impending introduction of legislation requiring large Australian listed companies to make supply chain disclosures about modern slavery, the paper aims to reveal current voluntary practice. The purpose of this paper is to provide a benchmark for assessing the current engagement of large companies with modern slavery in Australia. Design/methodology/approach Institutional theory provides the foundation for assessing current voluntary practice in relation to modern slavery disclosures by large Australian listed companies. Content analysis is used to identify quantity and quality of modern slavery disclosures of the top 100 companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. The contents of annual and standalone reports available on websites, as well as other online disclosures, are examined using terms associated with modern slavery identified from the literature. Findings Evidence gathered about modern slavery disclosures by ASX 100 companies shows information in annual and standalone reports reveal far less than other disclosures on company websites. Overall, the volume and quality of disclosures are low and, where made, narrative. A wide range of themes on modern slavery are disclosed with bribery and corruption and human rights issues dominant. Although currently in line with institutional theory, as there appear to be mimetic processes encouraging disclosure, results support the idea that legislation is needed to encourage further engagement. Research limitations/implications The paper provides a baseline of understanding about the volume and quality of modern slavery disclosures as a foundation for future research into the practices of Australian companies prior to the signalled introduction of legislation mandating reporting. It also identifies potential lines of research. The sample only examines large Australian listed companies which restricts generalisation from the results. Originality/value This is the first academic research paper to examine quantity and quality of modern slavery disclosures of large Australian companies. Results add support for the introduction of legislation by government.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accounting for modern slavery: an analysis of Australian listed company disclosures

Christ

Rao

Burritt

2019

AAAJ

110

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“…From ancient times through to early abolition efforts in the 18th century and general abolition in the 19th and 20th centuries, slavery was considered a part of everyday life (Barrientos, 2013) (left hand side of Figure 2). Traditional forms of slavery involved the legal ownership of one person by another (Wong, 2011). The relationship between slave and owner was usually long-term with the slave master exercising full control over every aspect of the enslaved individual's life.…”

Section: Accounting and Traditional Slaverymentioning

confidence: 99%

Accounting for work conditions from modern slavery to decent work

Christ

Burritt

Schaltegger

2020

AAAJ

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PurposeWith the initial focus on the extreme end of the work conditions continuum where, in the last decade, legislation has been introduced to combat illegal and illegitimate practices, this issue's lead paper provides an overview on key topics of extreme work conditions of modern slavery and accounting. The paper introduces the Special Issue on “Accounting for modern slavery, employees and work conditions in business” and its selected papers.Design/methodology/approachThe method adopted is a wide-ranging literature review exploring the continuum of work conditions and their relationship to accounting, especially extreme exploitation of workers through modern slavery.FindingsEmployment and workplace conditions and practices in business can be viewed as a continuum ranging from the illegal and illegitimate practices of modern slavery, through unethical and often illegal practices such as wages theft, to decent work. Given this continuum, in this Special Issue avenues are identified for accounting research to provide an account of the effectiveness of actions taken to eliminate modern slavery and overcome grey areas of work conditions.Practical implicationsThe paper helps to create an improved understanding of different types of exploitation in work conditions in different industries and the role accounting might play in research and practice.Social implicationsSlavery did not end with abolition in the 19th century. Instead, it changed its forms and continues to harm people in every country in the world especially in certain industries, of which several are discussed and accounting advice proffered. Likewise, as reflected in Special Issue papers, the role of accounting in reducing less extreme forms of poor work conditions is also considered.Originality/valueThe paper provides an overview of different forms and degrees of exploitation in work conditions and identifies the need for and areas of accounting research in this emerging area.

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“…The international struggle against slavery has its origin in the abolition of the transAtlantic slave trade (Welch, 2009;Wong, 2011). The Slavery Convention adopted by the League of Nations Assembly in the year 1926 defines slavery as "the status or condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised" (Kaye, 2008).…”

Section: Stjórnmál and Stjórnsýslamentioning

confidence: 99%

The Palermo Protocol: Trafficking Takes it All

Einarsdóttir¹,

Boiro²

2014

irpa

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The Palermo Protocol is the outcome of bargain and lobbying with global institutions, NGOs and government representatives embattling to enforce their interests. The outcome is the concept of trafficking that embraces the struggles against prostitution, slavery and child labour. This broad concept has allowed various local cultural practices and survival strategies of those who live under difficult conditions to become classified as trafficking. While such definition may facilitate fundraising there are adverse consequences to be considered. Firstly, hazardous conditions of children that obviously are not trafficking tend to become ignored. Second, the victims of "real" trafficking become invisible by the excessive number of children allegedly trafficked. Third, the broad definition of trafficking has contributed to criminalization of whole communities and consequent conflicts between NGOs engaged in anti-trafficking activities and the communities involved. Such a situation is not in the best interest of the children involved. Rather than spending huge amount of resources on the conventional anti-trafficking measures there is a need to address the root causes of whatsoever unacceptable condition a child is suffering from.

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Is Trafficking Slavery? Anti-Slavery International in the Twenty-first Century

Cited by 10 publications

References 27 publications

Accounting for modern slavery: an analysis of Australian listed company disclosures

Accounting for modern slavery: an analysis of Australian listed company disclosures

Accounting for work conditions from modern slavery to decent work

The Palermo Protocol: Trafficking Takes it All

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