Results from a before-and-after learning assessment of pre-migration departure training for prospective female migrants in Odisha, India

Work in Freedom (WiF) was a large multi-component intervention managed by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and funded by the Department for International Development (DFID), to prevent labour trafficking. WiF was implemented in India, Nepal and Bangladesh as source countries, and Lebanon and Jordan as destination countries, from 2013 to 2018. WiF’s community-based activities aimed to prevent labour trafficking by enhancing women’s autonomy, fostering adoption of ‘safe migration’ practices and assertion of migrant workers’ rights. The India component of WiF focussed on prospective in-country migrants only. A two-day pre-migration training event was organised for women who expressed an interest in migrating for work during WIF direct outreach sessions. The purpose of the sessions was to help women to make informed decisions about whether, and how, to migrate for work. They included modules on self-care, financial literacy, use of technology to ensure wellbeing, and safety in transit and at destination. Sessions were organised at the Gram Panchayat (village assembly) level and held once approximately 30 women had signed up per session (multiple sessions were held with different groups of approximately 30 women). The training was implemented by the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) and AAINA, local NGOs with experience in gender, and labour mobilisation and organisation among women. This dataset contains data provided by 347 women who participated in pre-migration training and completed pre-training and post-training interviews. Dataset variables are listed in the accompanying questionnaire.