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A new research and analysis service from a trusted charity

Reliable, evidence-based analysis of a complex crime.

Read more What we do

About CeAnEx

CeAnEx is powered by Black Country Women’s Aid (BCWA), a well-established, independent charity that supports victims of domestic abuse, sexual violence, stalking and harassment, exploitation and modern slavery.

We are expanding from our base with BCWA to further research and analyse exploitation nationally and internationally.

Why we are needed

Exploitation brings devastating consequences to the woman, man or child being harmed. Perpetrators prey on a victim’s disadvantage and vulnerabilities to enslave them, resulting in physical and psychological pain and suffering, and violations of their basic rights to freedom.

How we help

Our Mission

We take a practice-led, analytical approach to understanding, preventing and disrupting exploitation, and to empower victims to rebuild their lives.

Our Vision

Our objective is to lead in the research and analysis of exploitation and help end this far-reaching crime that damages the lives of millions worldwide.

Our research and analysis

Modern slavery victims are some of society’s most vulnerable people. Many complex issues drive human trafficking, including poverty, lack of education, war, climate change, unstable social and political conditions and gender discrimination.

We identify the links between the online world and real-life exploitation to gather on-the-ground evidence from victims. Their lived experience informs our research and analysis to provide a clearer, more accurate picture of how victims are recruited, trafficked and exploited, and how we can take action to stop it.

CeAnEx Director - Louise Brown

Louise Brown is an expert on sexual exploitation, brothel cultures and trafficking.

Louise has worked in the field for over twenty-five years as both an academic and practitioner. She was senior lecturer in Sociology and Asian Studies at the University of Birmingham, with specialisms in gender, sex work and sexual exploitation. She has worked as a consultant for international organisations, including the World Health Organisation, and wrote the WHO’s report Sex Work in Asia (2003).

Her ethnographic study of Lahore’s brothel quarter, The Dancing Girls of Lahore, is critically acclaimed. She joined Black Country Women’s Aid in 2018 to manage a community engagement project which identifies and supports victims of sexual exploitation.