A new study by the University of Nottingham’s Rights Lab, the Freedom Fund and Praxis explores which reintegration services are most effective at sustaining trafficking survivors’ freedom. “The lived realities of sustained liberation in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, India: an evaluation of survivor experiences” presents the findings of 88 interviews with survivors of trafficking in the Indian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. While there is no single pathway to sustained freedom, respondents emphasised that access to decent employment, education and knowledge of their labour rights were critical for securing long-term freedom.

“Survivors explained that the ability of communities to organise and prevent exploitation was crucial to developing independence and securing long-term freedom,” said Dr Andrea Nicholson and Dr Deanna Davy, researchers at the University of Nottingham Rights Lab and co-authors of the report. “Support from the philanthropic community for the creation and provision of ongoing services for these groups is therefore critical for facilitating sustained liberation.”

The study identified choice, decent income, freedom from debt, and self-representation as critical components of survivors’ sustained liberation. Child survivors said that freedom means being able to go to school, play and plan for their future.

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