Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism
at Brandeis University
i n v e s t i g a t i o n s
Journalists Telling the
Stories of Modern-Day Slavery
Like journalists before them, reporters today follow in the footsteps of their predecessors, telling the stories of slavery and other human rights abuses.
Following is a selected list of reporting on modern-day slavery, and is by no means complete.
See an article or broadcast that should be listed? Send us an email at schusterinstitute@brandeis.edu with the URL and pertinent information.
Selected Articles
Bowe, John
- Bound for America, May/June 2010, Mother Jones
- Modern Day Slavery in America – Welcome to the World of “Guestworkers”, 5/5/10, Huffington Post
- Nobodies, 4/21/03, The New Yorker
Brazao, Dale
- Exploited workers Canada’s ‘slave trade’, Part 1 of “People for Sale” series, 8/30/08, Toronto Star
- Big Promises, Broken Dreams, Part 2 of "People for Sale" series, 8/31/2008, Toronto Star
- Nanny for Sale, Part 3, "People for Sale, series, 9/22/2008, Toronto Star
Callamachi, Rukmini
- Child maid trafficking spreads from Africa to US, 12/28/08, Huffington Post (AP)
- Exploited Children Stories, 2008, AP
Carrier, Scott
- In a Brothel Atop Street 63, March/April 2006, Mother Jones
Field, Michael
- NZ slammed in US slavery report, 6/20/12, Stuff.co.nz
- Action on fishing abuse escalates, 3/4/12, Stuff.co.nz
- Crew aid foreign fishing boats probe, 11/03/11, Stuff.co.nz
- ‘We need more cheap foreign fishermen,’ 10/17/11, Stuff.co.nz
- Slave fishing in NZ waters exposed, 8/11/11, Stuff.co.nz
Fine Collins, Amy
- Sex Trafficking in America: The Girls Next Door, 5/24/11, Vanity Fair
Finnegan, William
- The Countertraffickers, 5/5/08, The New Yorker
Goldberg, Michelle
- Today’s Hidden Slave Trade, 6/28/11, The Daily Beast
- Slavery Still Exists in America, 6/13/10, The Daily Beast
Gonzalez, David
- When American Dream Leads to Servitude, 4/24/07, The New York Times
Gould, J.J.
- Slavery’s Global Comeback, 12/19/12, The Atlantic
Greenberg, Ilan
- Where Modern Slavery Thrives, 6/19/12, Daily Beast
Hardman, Jesse
- Escaping from Burma but Falling into Slavery, 9/30/11, Time
Hari, Johann
- The dark side of Dubai, 4/7/09, The Independent
Johnson, Scott
- One Mother’s Fight Against Human Trafficking, 10/29/12, Daily Beast
Kara, Siddharth
- Shrimp exports to west tied to bonded labor, 10/16/12, CNN Freedom Project
- Bonded labor stretches from third to first world, 10/15/12, CNN Freedom Project
- Sex Trafficking: A Global Overview, 8/10/12, World Politics Review
- Attacking the demand for child sex trafficking, 4/14/11, CNN Freedom Project
- On the trail of human trafficking, 7/22/10, CNN Freedom Project
Kelly, Kimbriell
- Sold in the USA, 9/30/07, Chicago Reporter
Kristof, Nicholas
- She Has a Pimp’s Name Etched on Her, 5/28/12, NYT
- Not Quite a Teen, Yet Sold for Sex, 4/18/12, NYT
- Where Pimps Peddle Their Goods, 3/17/12, NYT
- The Face of Modern Slavery, 1/16/11, NYT
Landesman, Peter
- The Girls Next Door, 1/25/04, NYT Magazine
Lewis, Libby
- Diplomatic Abuse of Servants Hard to Prosecute, 3/1/07, NPR
Martin, Phillip
- Underground Trade: From Boston to Bangkok, 1/8/2013, WGBH
-
Human Trafficking in New England: Sexual and Human Trafficking in the Boston Area,
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4, 7/8-13/2010, WGBH
Mead, Julia C.
- A Slow War on Human Trafficking, 5/28/06, NYT
Melnick, Meredith
Motlagh, Jason
- In a world hungry for cheap shrimp, migrants labor overtime in Thai sheds, 9/19/12, Washington Post
Nosheen, Habiba & Anup Kaphle
-
For Nepali Girls Abducted Into Indian Brothels, Where Is Home? 11/30/11,
The Atlantic
Pleitgen, Frederick & Mohamed Fadel Fahmy
- Death in the Desert, 11/3/11, CNN Freedom Project
Simpson, Cam
- The Deadly Tin Inside Your Smartphone, 8/23/12, Businessweek
- Victoria’s Secret Revealed in Child Picking Burkina Faso Cotton, 12/15/11, Bloomberg
- Pipeline to Peril, October 2005, Chicago Tribune
Skinner, E. Benjamin
- The Fishing Industry’s Cruelest Catch, 2/23/12, Bloomberg Businessweek
- How U.S. Budget Cuts Prolong Global Slavery, 6/28/2011, Time
- Britain's Long Fight Against Slavery, 5/2/2011, Huffington Post
- Modern-Day Slavery: A Necessary Beat With Different Challenges, Winter 2010, Nieman Reports
- Modern-Day Slavery on D.C.'s Embassy Row? 6/14/2010, Time
- South Africa’s Slave Trade and the Campaign to Stop It, 1/18/10, Time
- Pakistan's Forgotten Plight: Modern-Day Slavery, 10/27/2009, Time
- Slavery in America: An Undeniable Truth, 7/11/08, ABC Nightline
- More slavery reporting by Skinner>
Smith, Michael & David Voreacos
- The Secret World of Modern Slavery, 11/17/06, Bloomberg
Stillman, Sarah
- The Invisible Army, 6/6/11, The New Yorker
Sutter, John D.
- Slavery’s Last Stronghold, March 2012, CNN Freedom Project
Townshend, Mark
- Sex Trafficking in the UK, 2/5/11, The Guardian
vanden Heuvel, Katrina & Greg Kaufman
- Ending Slavery for Pennies, 4/16/08, The Nation
Photojournalism, Photo Exhibits
Chernush, Kay
Sex Trafficking Forced Labor, Survivors photo exhibit
for the U.S. State Department
Hamman, Melanie
Rescue Johannesburg, 2009 photo exhibit
Eva Horstick-Schmitt
Kristine, Lisa
Slavery Still Exists, Lisa Kristine, 9/26/12, The Atlantic
Nickolaysen, Ron
Survivors Argentina, 2008 photo exhibit
Roslan, Rahman
Nur: The Journey Home, 2010 photo exhibit
Media Outlets Reporting on Slavery
The CNN Freedom Project is a media campaign launched by CNN in 2011 to expose instances of modern slavery around the globe.
Some of their larger features include John Sutter’s award-winning piece on Mauritania, Slavery’s Last Stronghold, Frederick Pleitgen and Mohamed Fadel Fahmy’s reporting on abuses of refugees in Egypt, Death in the Desert, and Siddharth Kara’s regular posts.
The Guardian's Sustainable Business desk focus includes commentary and reporting about human trafficking and modern-day slavery.
The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting
The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting has been reporting on human trafficking and modern-day slavery since 2008.
A few of their stories follow:
- Bad Cocktail: Labor Abuse in Thailand’s Shrimp Industry. Jason Motlagh and Steve Sapienza, project launched 9/20/12
- Thailand: The Overfishing Underclass. Adam Janofsky, 8/31/11, Pulitzer Center’s Untold Stories
- Nepal: Rebuilding Lives after Trafficking. Anup Kaphle and Habiba Nosheen, project launched 12/28/10
- Thailand: Sex Tourism, Exploited Women. Deena Gudzer, project launched 8/14/09
- Altar, Sonora: The Business of Smuggling. David Rochkind and Sacha Feinman, project launched 4/21/09
- Restaveks: Child Slaves of Haiti. Carmen Russell and Dane Liu, project launched 10/1/07
The Schuster Institute for Investigative Reporting
The Schuster Institute's Human Trafficking and Modern-Day Slavery project, led by investigative journalist E. Benjamin Skinner, was launched in 2009. Highlights include Skinner's investigative report with Bloomberg Businessweek on slavery at sea; and with Time, South African's new slave trade and Pakistan's indentured servants.
Filipino Catherine Manuel is the focus of Dale Brazao's story "Nanny for Sale," Toronto Star.