Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34888538›Full record

ArticleJournal of migration and health2021

Victims or suspects? Identifying and assisting potentially trafficked fishermen: A qualitative study with stakeholders and first responders in Thailand.

Nicola S Pocock, Heidi Stöckl, Reena Tadee, Wansiri Rongrongmuang, Kanokwan Tharawan, Fiona B Adamson, Cathy Zimmerman

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of migration and health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
1.5field-weighted citation impact, top 12% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 6 institutions in 3 countries.

Nicola S PocockDepartment of Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Faculty of Public Health and Policy, 15-17 Tavistock Place, London, Northern Ireland WC1H 9SH, United Kingdom.
Heidi StöcklInstitute for Medical Information Processing, Biometry, Epidemiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Germany.
Reena TadeeInstitute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol University, Salaya, Thailand.
Wansiri RongrongmuangIndependent Consultant, Bangkok, Thailand.
Kanokwan TharawanInstitute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol University, Salaya, Thailand.
Fiona B AdamsonDepartment of Politics and International Studies, SOAS, University of London, London, UK.
Cathy ZimmermanDepartment of Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Faculty of Public Health and Policy, 15-17 Tavistock Place, London, Northern Ireland WC1H 9SH, United Kingdom.
Mahidol University · THBangkok University · THFaculty of Public Health · GBLondon School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine · GBLudwig-Maximilians-Universität München · DEUniversity of London · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Prompted by reports of 'sea slavery' in the fishing industry and threats of sanctions, Thailand has faced pressure to eradicate human trafficking the fishing sector. Although the Thai government has responded with anti-trafficking policies, there remains little understanding about their implementation. Specifically, little is known about how government agencies, NGOs or industry perceive "trafficking", and no research examines how trafficked fishermen are identified and assisted. This study aimed to: 1) explore how stakeholders described trafficking in the fishing sector and their perceptions of trafficking indicators; and 2) identify challenges encountered by frontline responders to identify and assist trafficked fishermen. We conducted interviews with 33 key informants, which were analysed thematically. Findings indicate that authorities and industry representatives believed migrant brokers caused employers to "inadvertently" traffic men. Trafficking was perceived to take place primarily outside of Thai waters, beyond the government's jurisdiction. Most stakeholders considered violence and being confined as key indicators of trafficking. Officials expressed confusion about whether debt bondage and document confiscation "counted" as indicators. Ambiguity and confusion about trafficking indicators in screening forms, combined with perceived "deservingness" of official victim status, underpinned frontline responders' decisions about who was a victim of trafficking (VoT). Practical and structural constraints included interpreter shortages, and expanded civil servant remits without commensurate staff increases, which hindered officials' responses to trafficking. This study addresses a critical knowledge gap on the implementation of anti-trafficking policies and offers findings to assist policymakers to address the challenges faced by frontline responders to improve victim identification and assistance.

Indexed as

FishingHuman traffickingLabour exploitationThailand

Identifiers

PMID34888538
PMCPMC8634033
OpenAlexW3215797228

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.