Connecting evidence with policy on human trafficking through partnership in Sierra Leone

Posted on: 13 October 2023 by Helen Bryant in Policy CoLab

The University of Liverpool Policy CoLab, based in the Department of Politics, is a collaborative research group whose main goals are to understand different forms of exploitation covered under UN Sustainable Development Goal 8.7 and to support effective action to prevent and stop these through improved policy and practice. One of the key ways in which we do this is through fostering deep networks and partnerships with researchers, NGOs and policymakers globally. A lot of our research has focused on sub-Saharan Africa and recently we have had the opportunity to engage with partners and stakeholders in Sierra Leone and generate new evidence to address issues of child trafficking.

Our partners at the Center for Human Trafficking Research and Outreach (CenHTro) based at the University of Georgia (USA) earlier this year released a baseline prevalence study addressing child trafficking figures in 3 regions of Sierra Leone. As part of this study the Policy CoLab analysed the research data in order to produce a policy brief, outlining the key findings from the research and making recommendations for addressing local forms of child trafficking and child labour injustices. Translating a long and detailed research report into a more easily digestible format for stakeholders is essential for communicating the overall research aims as well as linking how it relates to policy and practice in Sierra Leone. The policy brief is currently being used as an engagement tool in-country to help policy makers and beneficiaries aware of the research and its potential outcomes.

I was part of the team that helped share this report widely with key stakeholders in Sierra Leone during the National Conference on Trafficking in Persons. This conference, hosted by the Ministry of Social Welfare in partnership with the Office of the President, focused on ‘Strengthening National Frameworks and Stakeholder Networks to STOP Modern Slavery’. Participants came from multiple stakeholder groups and included His Excellency President of Sierra Leone Dr Julius Maada Bio and the First Lady Madam Fatima Maada Bio. Also in attendance were the Minister of Social Welfare, the Minister of Justice, Attorney General, representatives from the ECOWAS Commission, International Organisation for Migration (IOM), and Ambassadors from Ireland, EU, and USA, and global and local NGOs.

CenHTro Director, Dr Okech presented during the conference, promoting the newly published base line research, and accompanying CoLab policy recommendations. Further to this presentation, our colleague Umaru Fofanah, gave a presentation on the work he supports with our partners at World Hope International – our implementation partners on the ground in Sierra Leone. Participation in this conference gave the Policy CoLab a great opportunity to further develop and harness our relationships with leading policy makers and stakeholders working on ending modern slavery in Sierra Leone. I had the opportunity to discuss the benefits of this type of collaboration with Umaru a few months later, He felt that focusing on a developing a system in which beneficiaries’ interests and expertise were taken into consideration was key to sustainability. 

While in Sierra Leone I had many more opportunities to meet and discuss our work with local government administrators in the field. After a few days in Freetown, a group of us from CenHTro headed further into the country to visit with Ministers and Paramount Chiefs in Kenema and Kailahun. We started our fieldwork meetings with Resident Minister Ret. Col. Kes Boya to discuss the next steps, which includes implementation of activities which aim to reduce prevalence and increase prosecution of traffickers. It’s important to build relationships with local officials as their involvement and understanding of the goals and aims of the research are key in establishing collaborative working practices in the community.  

In conversation with Assistant District Officer Emmanuel YD Kamara and Edmond E. Boucarie, Chiefdom Administration Officer, we discussed how to effectively communicate policy to local communities. Learning that policy changes are shared with community members through play acting and drama was interesting and has shaped the overall engagement plans for the next stages. My discussions with stakeholders during this time highlighted an important feature of our research: multi-agency partnership working is the key to making distinguishable impact in trafficking in persons in Sierra Leone.

So far, we have been working towards building relationships with the stakeholders in-country, spending time in Sierra Leone and having zoom calls with our partners who can achieve influence with their expertise and networks. But partnership only works if all participants believe and see how they will mutually benefit from the relationship. As the body of research into effective partnership grows, it is important that we continue to develop our methods of collaborative working in order to develop more effective and impactful relationships. This is why understanding the different types of partnerships and how they interact and collaborate from the onset of large programmes or research projects is essential. We are currently doing a review of current literature on theory and practice in this area to understand how transformative, effective, and sustainable partnership can be achieved. Through this we of course remain reflective on our own practices in hopes to develop better practices which are sustainable.