MODERN SLAVERY STILL EXISTS
Modern slavery – often the result of human trafficking – affects more than 40.3 million people worldwide. Over half of them are in Asia; exploited for their labor, sold into marriages or forced into prostitution (Walk Free Foundation, 2018). These figures illustrate a large number of people, often migrant workers, who are in situations of labor exploitation.
However, less than 1% are being successfully identified and subsequently helped. This also indicates that current identification techniques are failing the vast proportion of victims of human trafficking and forced labor.
APPRISE: OUR SOLUTION
Apprise is a tool for screening vulnerable populations with the potential to unmask situations of forced labor and human trafficking.
It is currently being tested and piloted to screen migrant workers across supply chains in Asia and the Pacific region, particularly in the Greater Mekong Sub-region.
CURRENTLY AVAILABLE
WHY USE APPRISE FOR SCREENING VULNERABLE POPULATIONS
PRIVACY
Apprise allows respondents to anonymously and confidentially respond to questions about their work conditions.
INCLUSIVENESS
Apprise supports a wide range of languages and dialects, facilitating greater inclusivity in the screening process.
FREQUENCY
Apprise allows interviewing a larger sample of respondents, increasing the frequency of screening.
CONSISTENCY
Apprise consistently captures information on labor conditions, allowing results to be compared across time, location, and sector.
SECTORS AND INDUSTRIES THAT WE WORK WITH
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CLICK BELOW TO SEE AN INTRODUCTION TO APPRISE
APPRISE
Apprise was developed as a tool to support frontline responders to identify victims of forced labor and human trafficking.
The app is downloaded on the front-line responders’ phone but is ultimately a tool in the potential victims’ hands.
A broad cross-section of stakeholders worked together to design an app that is user-friendly and appropriate for use with state and civil society actors. Screening questionnaires were developed for different sectors and translated in the most common languages among migrant workers’ communities.
Apprise is used in the fishing and seafood processing sector and the entertainment industry.
USER REVIEWS
Sokhom, a Cambodian worker
The importance of privacy
Sometimes a face-to-face conversation is much harder than I expected. My privacy is protected when the interview is done without others knowing my answer.
Sutin, a survivor of forced labor
Feeling safe
I feel safe to answer the question in the app. At least I can trust that a phone can’t talk. It won’t tell others about what happened to me.
Kha, a Burmese translator
Confidence to share
I used Apprise to interview them [workers] and to get their phone number. Then I arranged to meet them later at either their house or my office. The app gives them confidence to share.
APPRISE AUDIT
As more and more businesses demand accountability and transparency in their supply chains, we created a new version of Apprise for the processing and manufacturing sector.
Apprise Audit was developed as a tool to support auditors in workers' interviews during social compliance audits. It allows assessing workers' conditions in a factory.
WHAT OUR TEAM SAYS
Hannah Thinyane, UNU-Macau
Empowering Workers
Apprise Audit is a simple, yet effective way to empower workers to communicate with auditors. We do not aim at replacing in-person interviews, rather offer one more tool to make these interviews more thorough.
Silvia Mera, The Mekong Club
A Cost-Effective Solution
Apprise Audit offers a time- and cost-effective way to interview workers. We are eager to test the app in the field and gather both social auditors’ and workers’ feedback to further advance this solution.