Research resources
In the field of child trafficking and sexual exploitation, research has tended to focus on trying to establish the prevalence and characteristics of victims. There have been far fewer studies investigating children's subsequent recovery and reintegration.
Lack of evidence
There are many reasons why evidence is lacking in this area including:
- difficulties in locating and accessing a representative sample of children
- complexities in engaging with affected children
- failures to embed monitoring and evaluation into project design
- lack of capacity to carry out monitoring and evaluation
- a dearth of longitudinal studies
- lack of good knowledge management
- limited participation of children and their families in research, monitoring and evaluation.
Without evidence it is not easy to determine which initiatives or programmes are relevant or effective for children and it makes it very difficult for funders to make decisions over which projects to support.
There is a need to improve the current evidence base to ensure that children receive the best support and have the greatest chance of recovery.
Quality of research
Research is a profession requiring a certain level of knowledge, experience and skill. In any piece of research, ethical practice should be central. When researching exploitation and trafficking, especially with regards to children, there must be an even greater understanding of the negative impact that may occur due to the research being undertaken. For these reasons, it is very important that research is carried out by those who are properly trained.
It is not only a case of ensuring the child's best interests throughout the process, but also ensuring that the research is rigorous and data is well analysed and non-biased in order to show a true representation of the situation for children. Research findings do, and should, inform changes in policy and practice, therefore it is imperative that research is done well.
This section provides useful resources to researchers and encourages solid and ethical monitoring, evaluation and research in the field of recovery and reintegration.
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