An experimental intervention using social media to provide access to information and support on illegal recruitment fees and practices

Abstract
Migration intermediaries play a legitimate role in the efficient matching of labor supply and demand across borders. However, exploitation and forced labor can occur when unethical intermediaries take advantage of information asymmetries to charge exorbitant fees to migrant workers for their services, who often take on substantial debt and risks to finance recruitment related costs. Migrasia, a think tank devoted to migration in Asia, has used social media to overcome information barriers and improve the identification, protection, and empowerment of migrant workers and increase accountability of malicious recruitment agencies and other migration intermediaries. Researchers are assessing the feasibility and suitability of conducting a randomized evaluation to determine the effectiveness of Migrasia’s social media campaigns in reducing the incidence of migrant worker exploitation.

Key factors
Gender, Ethnicity, Identification/Referral System, Legal Framework, Law Enforcement & Monitoring, Legal Documentation & Entitlements, Poverty/Household Wealth, Migration, Labour Mobility, Labour Recruitment, Remedial Education and vocational training, Access to Information and communication technologies (ICT), Women’s economic capacity, Orientation and Information for migrants (before departure/upon arrival), Communication and advocacy

Key outcomes
Forced Labour, Forced Labour Exploitation, Bonded Labour, Trafficking for Forced Labour/sexual exploitation, Sector, Gender, Ethnicity, Migrant Status, Legal Frameworks, Access to Preventive Measures, Access to Protective Measures, Access to Remedies