Tackling modern forced labour


VICTIMS OF MODERN slavery in the UK could number between 10,000 and 13,000, according to the Home Office. Recently, awareness of this growing problem has been raised through the creation of the independent Forced Labour Monitoring Group (FLMG).


Drawing together government inspection agencies, policymakers, academics and representatives from business, the unions and the wider voluntary and community sector, the FLMG has substantially raised the profile of the extent and type of forced labour in the UK as well as the need for strengthening policy, legal, regulatory and political responses. The FLMG has strongly shaped debates about issues


needing to be addressed in the Modern Slavery Bill (currently going through Parliament). Researchers view the FLMG as a pilot for a potentially permanent network that could be independent and/or embedded within government (along the lines of either the Fair Employment Enforcement Board or an All-Party Parliamentary Group). n


i Contact Professor Gary Craig,


University of Durham Email gary.craig@durham.ac.uk Web www.forcedlabour.org Telephone 0191 33 42232 ESRC Grant Number ES/J020567/2


Media shapes views of Russian election ‘fairness’


ALMOST TWO FIFTHS of Russian voters considered the December 2011 elections unfair, according to surveys conducted by University of Glasgow researchers. And the belief in Russian election ‘unfairness’ appears to be growing (25 per cent in 2007 compared to 39 per cent in 2011), particularly among those who describe themselves as living on ‘poorer’ incomes. Findings reveal that the media played a major role in shaping the Russian public’s views about the fairness of the election. The greater the frequency of watching television, the more likely the person was to view the elections as having been fairly conducted; but more frequent use of the internet was associated with seeing the election as unfair. Watching television and reading


newspapers regularly in Russia has been relatively constant over the


decade, but internet use has grown exponentially. Just two per cent of people surveyed in 2001 reported regular internet use, but by 2011 that had climbed to 50 per cent, almost on a par with newspaper readership. Social media – Facebook in particular – proved important in disseminating information and helping to mobilise support for post election anti-regime demonstrations. Increasing perception of election unfairness coupled with the growing influence of social media, particularly among the young, are not encouraging for the Kremlin or practitioners of ‘authoritarian elections’ elsewhere, says researcher Professor Stephen White. n


i Contact Professor Stephen White,


University of Glasgow Email s.white@socsci.gla.ac.uk Telephone 0141 330 5352 ESRC Grant Number ES/J004731/1


IN BRIEF CONSTITUTIONAL VIEWS


Following the Referendum on Scottish Independence, David Cameron announced a rapid transfer of powers to the Scottish Parliament and fundamental changes to the operation of Westminster. New research aims to capture the views of political decision-makers, civil servants and campaigners who shape public debate and, through a survey of 7,500 respondents, the key concerns of the public regarding constitutional change. ESRC grant number ES/M010856/1


CYBER-CRIMINAL MINDS Online trading companies are increasingly subject to fraudulent attacks on their websites with customers facing not only clone sites but also ‘phishing’ attempts to gain access to login and password information. New research aims to measure the extent and nature of such fraudulent activity and examine the patterns of behaviour of cyber- criminals and how that differs from regular users. ESRC grant number ES/L01498X/1


CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE Historical sexual abuse of children is a central focus of current political, social and legal concern. But knowledge of the broader history of sexual abuse in the 20th century is extremely partial. Based on online sources, researchers aim to provide a better understanding of the wider historical circumstances (1918-1990) that have shaped social, legal and political responses to child sexual abuse – or the lack of such responses. ESRC grant number ES/M009750/1


SUMMER 2011 SOCIETY NOW 5 SPRING 2015


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