Tricked and Trapped: Human Trafficking in the Middle East, ‎pdf 4.1 MB

CHAPTER 2:
METHODOLOGY
2.1. RESEARCH DESIGN
In order to gain a better understanding of the phenomenon of human
trafficking, the ILO undertook between June 2011 and December 2012
a regional research project to map the processes of trafficking for labour
exploitation in the Middle East. Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon and the UAE
were selected as case studies for primary data collection, representing both
the Mashreq and the Gulf. Additional information was collected from key
stakeholders in the region based in Bahrain, Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and
Yemen, and in several other countries, including Bangladesh, Belgium,
Egypt, Ethiopia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Switzerland and the Philippines.
Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders,
and a questionnaire administered to adult migrant workers and victims of
trafficking (both individually and within focus groups) to document their
experiences and vulnerabilities. 1 Tools were developed and subsequently
reviewed by members of the Advisory Group, composed of specialists from
the ILO and Heartland Alliance. They were then pilot tested and adapted
in September 2011 with the technical support of a senior ILO researcher.
Snowball sampling was used to identify migrant workers who would be
1
The questionnaire used during interviews with migrant workers and victims of
trafficking sought to document their lives prior to leaving their countries of origin, their
experience travelling and working abroad, and any assistance they may have received.
This questionnaire was administered only after the researchers had explained the nature
of the project and emphasized the confidentiality of the process. The researchers also
stressed that participation in this project was voluntary, and that the interviewee could
skip questions or stop the interview altogether at any point. The development of
the questionnaire led the researchers to realize that entirely different tools would be
needed to interview trafficked children. It was therefore decided to keep certain
age-specific questions in the questionnaire, but to administer it only to adults.
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