Introduction

This Thematic Review provides a compilation of current practices addressing the interconnections between financial inclusion and protecting vulnerable populations from modern slavery.

Building on the findings from the Liechtenstein Initiative for a Financial Sector Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, laid out in the FAST Blueprint,4 research and interventions on modern slavery indicate that:

• Financial exclusion is a risk multiplier for experiencing modern slavery;

• Financial exclusion is often a consequence for those with lived experience of modern slavery5 and can increase vulnerability to re-victimization; and

• Financial inclusion, especially in the context of increasing financial literacy, economic resilience, and sustainable livelihoods, can help to offer protective factors against modern slavery.

The current practices gathered through desk-based research by FAST in this review will help financial service providers, supervisors, and regulators, as well as other actors, to understand the value proposition for expanding access to finance for groups that they may not be targeting currently, as a contribution to international efforts to prevent modern slavery

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