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Anette Brunovskis

Researcher

Anette Brunovskis is a sociologist and researcher at Fafo. Her work focuses on vulnerability, migration, and how people in difficult life situations encounter public services and support systems.

Her research covers labour exploitation, mobility, prostitution, living conditions, mental health and everyday life among military veterans and their families, as well as access to services for groups in vulnerable or marginalized positions

She holds a PhD in sociology from the University of Oslo. Her dissertation examined how local institutions handle the identification, assistance and follow up of people exposed to exploitation, and how international frameworks are translated into practice in Norway and Moldova.

Brunovskis primarily works with qualitative methods and has extensive experience with in depth interviews on sensitive topics and fieldwork in Norway, Albania, Belgium, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine.

She also has experience from projects that combine qualitative and quantitative approaches, as well as from ethical and methodological work in studies involving so called hard to reach populations.

Education

Dr. Polit., University of Oslo

Area of work

Human trafficking, migration, the Balkans and Eastern Europe.


Current projects

Sliding scales in labour exploitation - the grey area between social dumping and human trafficking
In this project, Fafo will examine labour exploitation in the grey areas between social dumping and human trafficking for forced labor. The project is commissioned by the Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, and will run until November 2025.
Integrative Approaches to Labor Exploitation and Work-related crime: Knowledge translation, transfer and exchange in the Nordic Context (INTEGRATE)

In this collaborative project, researchers from Finland, Norway, and Sweden will study practical recommendations and innovative solutions targeting work-related crime and improving workplace environments, with a special emphasis on combating labor exploitation.

Mapping of resident immigrants with a D-number
Persons who stay in Norway for more than six months must, as a general rule, register as having moved to Norway and be registered in the National Register with a so-called birth number (f-number). Immigrants to Norway who plan to stay in the country for less than six months can be registered with a "d-number", necessary, for instance, for being issues a tax card. Concerns have been raised that immigrants, even with period of residence exceeding six months, may have difficulties in being registered with an f-number. This may have an impact on their access to rights, such as a GP.
Provision of Labour Rights to Migrant workers (PROMI)

The project studies Norwegian political development and efforts to combat the exploitation of labor immigrants, including the effects of increased inter-agency cooperation and control activities in the fight against human trafficking, social dumping, and work-related crime. To put the Norwegian example into perspective, comparisons will be made with other Nordic countries.

Publications

Fafo publications

Scientific publications

Completed projects

Labour migrants and the Norwegian housing market

Labour migrants are vulnerable in the limited and pressured Norwegian housing rental market. Rental prices have risen sharply, especially in the last two years. Around half of migrant workers from Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Romania rent housing.

Competence building, Assistance provision and Prosecution of labour Exploitation cases in the Baltic Sea Region

In this project, Fafo summarizes the forms labour trafficking takes in Norway today, and what is known about the relationship between recruitment practices and forced labour and labour trafficking.

Estimating the prevalence of trafficking in persons in Norway using the Multiple Systems Estimation methodology

The project will test a methodology to estimate the extent of human trafficking in Norway and contribute to better regional and international estimates by participating in the work of the UN Office on Drugs and Organised Crime (UNODC) to develop Multiple Systems Estimation (MSE) in different countries and regions. There are currently no such reliable estimates of human trafficking in Norway and there is a high demand for reliable statistics in this area. MSE is a variant of the capture-recapture method, which UNODC has adapted to data on human trafficking.

Human trafficking for labour exploitation

In this research project, Fafo will contribute to the increased knowledge about the prevalence of and efforts against human trafficking for labour exploitation.

Vurdering av Litauens systemer for å håndtere økt tilstrømming av asylsøkere, integreringsarbeid og irregulær migrasjon
Fafo will, on behalf of KS, provide an assessment of Lithuania's asylum procedures, integration work and handling of irregular immigration.
Health Services and Needs in Prostitution

This project will explore what assistance is offered and needed today, and how to best understand and contextualise developments in social work.