title: Who seeks help in a crisis? Temporal analysis of anti-trafficking helpline contacts over the pandemic

authors: Tompson, Lisa

subjects: Complex systems

abstract: Background
Human trafficking and extreme exploitation ("modern slavery") violate fundamental human rights and cause severe harm to individuals' well-being. Anti-trafficking helplines provide critical support for victims/survivors, yet little research has explored their usage patterns, particularly during crises. This study examines how the Covid-19 pandemic influenced reporting to the UK’s Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline, aiming to identify trends in help-seeking behaviour during this period of significant social disruption.

Methods
This study analysed 8,386 cases from the Helpline between October 2016 and December 2021. We took a descriptive approach, as assumptions for causal analyses could not be met. We used seasonal decomposition methods to separate underlying trends over the pandemic from seasonal effects, focusing on caller proximity and exploitation sub-types.

Results
Helpline contacts decreased following the introduction of Covid-19 restrictions, although case volume remained steady compared to pre-pandemic levels. Reporting patterns shifted: reports of criminal and sexual exploitation increased, while those of labour exploitation declined. Self-reports from victims/survivors rose notably during in-person work restrictions, particularly for labour exploitation in essential industries. Reports from the public about suspicious activity dropped and did not rebound post-lockdown, suggesting long-term changes in public reporting behaviour.

Conclusions
The study demonstrates how the Covid-19 pandemic affected reporting to a major anti-trafficking helpline, revealing increased self-reports from victim/survivors but a decline in community-based reporting. These findings highlight the importance of helplines as a public health intervention during crises and underscore the need for enhanced support infrastructure during periods of social and economic disruption. Future research should investigate the underlying causes of these shifts in reporting and explore ways to improve service access for victim/survivors of trafficking during emergencies.

text: Who seeks help in a crisis? Temporal analysis of anti-trafficking helpline contacts over the pandemic Background
Human trafficking and extreme exploitation ("modern slavery") violate fundamental human rights and cause severe harm to individuals' well-being. Anti-trafficking helplines provide critical support for victims/survivors, yet little research has explored their usage patterns, particularly during crises. This study examines how the Covid-19 pandemic influenced reporting to the UK’s Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline, aiming to identify trends in help-seeking behaviour during this period of significant social disruption.

Methods
This study analysed 8,386 cases from the Helpline between October 2016 and December 2021. We took a descriptive approach, as assumptions for causal analyses could not be met. We used seasonal decomposition methods to separate underlying trends over the pandemic from seasonal effects, focusing on caller proximity and exploitation sub-types.

Results
Helpline contacts decreased following the introduction of Covid-19 restrictions, although case volume remained steady compared to pre-pandemic levels. Reporting patterns shifted: reports of criminal and sexual exploitation increased, while those of labour exploitation declined. Self-reports from victims/survivors rose notably during in-person work restrictions, particularly for labour exploitation in essential industries. Reports from the public about suspicious activity dropped and did not rebound post-lockdown, suggesting long-term changes in public reporting behaviour.

Conclusions
The study demonstrates how the Covid-19 pandemic affected reporting to a major anti-trafficking helpline, revealing increased self-reports from victim/survivors but a decline in community-based reporting. These findings highlight the importance of helplines as a public health intervention during crises and underscore the need for enhanced support infrastructure during periods of social and economic disruption. Future research should investigate the underlying causes of these shifts in reporting and explore ways to improve service access for victim/survivors of trafficking during emergencies.

year: 2025

title: Ideology and the ANZUS dispute: the legacy of the New Left and the consequences for New Zealand’s security policy

authors: Sinclair, Brian James

abstract: This study of the ANZUS dispute examines the influence of the New Left’s ideology on NZ’s security discourse, and how the development of this ideology contributed to the rift between NZ and the US over the question of visits by US nuclear-powered or nuclear weapons-capable warships. In a break from past scholarship on the ANZUS dispute, this thesis examines the nature and history of the NZ peace movement, and it argues that New Left ideology became the main driving force of the peace movement after the 1960s. The NZ peace movement’s resulting desire to disengage NZ from military co-operation with the US was aided by the fact that, by 1984, the NZ Labour Party was also heavily influenced by the same ideology. Although the NZ public was supportive of ANZUS and collective security, its anti-nuclearism enabled the above organisations to impose a nuclear ship ban which resulted in an end to US military co-operation with NZ. This thesis uses a wide range of peace movement sources and other secondary sources to reveal the motivations lying behind the NZ ship ban, and to assess the consequences of the ban.

text: Ideology and the ANZUS dispute: the legacy of the New Left and the consequences for New Zealand’s security policy This study of the ANZUS dispute examines the influence of the New Left’s ideology on NZ’s security discourse, and how the development of this ideology contributed to the rift between NZ and the US over the question of visits by US nuclear-powered or nuclear weapons-capable warships. In a break from past scholarship on the ANZUS dispute, this thesis examines the nature and history of the NZ peace movement, and it argues that New Left ideology became the main driving force of the peace movement after the 1960s. The NZ peace movement’s resulting desire to disengage NZ from military co-operation with the US was aided by the fact that, by 1984, the NZ Labour Party was also heavily influenced by the same ideology. Although the NZ public was supportive of ANZUS and collective security, its anti-nuclearism enabled the above organisations to impose a nuclear ship ban which resulted in an end to US military co-operation with NZ. This thesis uses a wide range of peace movement sources and other secondary sources to reveal the motivations lying behind the NZ ship ban, and to assess the consequences of the ban.

year: 1998

title: Manaaki whenua. Manaaki tangata: Care for the land, care for the people: Leading critical school reform with mana whenua and whānau Māori

authors: Ford, Therese

subjects: Critical school reform

abstract: Education disparities between Māori and Pākehā students in Aotearoa, have their origins in colonial education policies and practices which considerably advantaged Pākehā students and compromised the ability of Māori students to engage with learning and succeed.  Despite the promises of equality inherent in the Treaty of Waitangi,  this historical foundation has, for over 150 years, perpetuated intergenerational cycles of education failure for Māori resulting in high levels of endemic social and economic disadvantage in many Māori communities.
This thesis examines the leadership praxis of two Pākehā principals, to understand how, with more respectful connections with Māori communities, they were able to address education disparities and facilitate success for Māori students as Māori. Culturally responsive research methodologies guided two, in-depth case studies which employed mixed methods.
Two collaborative stories, with the voices of mana whenua and whānau Māori, identified the importance of school leaders developing critical levels of consciousness, through authentic, bidirectional relationships with Māori communities.  These relationships enabled the principals to understand the authentic local, pre-colonial iwi histories of the land. This in turn fostered connections between the schools and local Māori communities that enabled them to collaboratively respond to the implications of colonisation.  
The thesis challenges the monocultural, monolingual, unidirectional policies and practices that characterise the current model of colonial education.  It presents instead a decolonising model of critical school reform and a framework for implementation and evaluation.  It contends that honouring the Treaty of Waitangi requires an equity focused response with power sharing relationships, critically led by principals alongside Māori communities.

text: Manaaki whenua. Manaaki tangata: Care for the land, care for the people: Leading critical school reform with mana whenua and whānau Māori Education disparities between Māori and Pākehā students in Aotearoa, have their origins in colonial education policies and practices which considerably advantaged Pākehā students and compromised the ability of Māori students to engage with learning and succeed.  Despite the promises of equality inherent in the Treaty of Waitangi,  this historical foundation has, for over 150 years, perpetuated intergenerational cycles of education failure for Māori resulting in high levels of endemic social and economic disadvantage in many Māori communities.
This thesis examines the leadership praxis of two Pākehā principals, to understand how, with more respectful connections with Māori communities, they were able to address education disparities and facilitate success for Māori students as Māori. Culturally responsive research methodologies guided two, in-depth case studies which employed mixed methods.
Two collaborative stories, with the voices of mana whenua and whānau Māori, identified the importance of school leaders developing critical levels of consciousness, through authentic, bidirectional relationships with Māori communities.  These relationships enabled the principals to understand the authentic local, pre-colonial iwi histories of the land. This in turn fostered connections between the schools and local Māori communities that enabled them to collaboratively respond to the implications of colonisation.  
The thesis challenges the monocultural, monolingual, unidirectional policies and practices that characterise the current model of colonial education.  It presents instead a decolonising model of critical school reform and a framework for implementation and evaluation.  It contends that honouring the Treaty of Waitangi requires an equity focused response with power sharing relationships, critically led by principals alongside Māori communities.

year: 2020