In collaboration with IPA Mexico, researchers evaluated whether targeted information dissemination via a website and social networks can reduce migrants' vulnerability to human trafficking in Mexico. Researchers bundled two different interventions to assess their feasibility ahead of a full-scale randomized evaluation.

Migrants are highly susceptible to human trafficking, especially while transiting through border crossings, illegal migration routes and refugee camps.¹ In Mexico, all these risk factors are present and further exacerbated by the combination of unprecedented migration flows, government harassment, and violent criminal organizations.²

With IPA Mexico, researchers conducted two different interventions to evaluate whether targeted information dissemination can reduce migrants’ vulnerability to human trafficking during their journey through Mexico. The first intervention encouraged migrants to utilize a website, available in Spanish and Haitian Creole, offering information on legal resources and the location of shelters. The second intervention established social networks to provide targeted information on safety strategies and route guidance. For ethical reasons, all migrants in this study were informed about emergency phone numbers in Mexico.

Results are forthcoming.

Sources

^1. Latham-Sprinkle, John, Fiona David, Katharine Bryant, and Jacqueline Larsen. "Migrants and their vulnerability to human trafficking, modern slavery and forced labour." (2019).

^2. Maria Julia Castaneda, "México alcanza un nuevo máximo histórico de solicitudes de asilo: más de 100.000 hasta octubre," EL PAÍS, November 2, 2021, https://elpais.com/mexico/2021-11-03/mexico-alcanza-un-nuevo-maximo-historico-de-solicitudes-de-asilo-mas-de-100000-hasta-octubre.html

Human Rights First, "Biden Administration Embrace of Trump Asylum Expulsion Policy Endangers Lives, Wreaks Havoc," Human Rights First, August 24, 2021, https://humanrightsfirst.org/library/human-rights-travesty-biden-administration-embrace-of-trump-asylum-expulsion-policy-endangers-lives-wreaks-havoc/

Infobae, "Secuestros y extorsiones del narco: el drama de los migrantes centroamericanos en Tamaulipas," infobae, February 2, 2020, https://www.infobae.com/america/mexico/2020/02/02/secuestros-y-extorsiones-del-narco-el-drama-de-los-migrantes-centroamericanos-en-tamaulipas/