Modern slavery is a hidden crime that affects every country in the world. Modern slavery has been found in many industries, including garment manufacturing, mining, and agriculture, and in many contexts, from private homes to settlements for internally displaced people and refugees. Modern slavery impacts on all of us, from the food we consume to the goods we purchase. It is everybody’s responsibility to address and eliminate this crime where it occurs.
Modern slavery covers a set of specific legal concepts including forced labour, debt bondage, forced marriage, slavery and slavery-like practices, and human trafficking. Although modern slavery is not defined in law, it is used as an umbrella term that focuses attention on commonalities across these legal concepts.
Essentially, it refers to situations of exploitation that a person cannot refuse or leave because of threats, violence, coercion, deception, and/or abuse of power.
Why it still exists.
In some regions, ongoing conflict, political instability, and forced displacement are key drivers of modern slavery. Transformations in the world of work, climate change, and migration increase the vulnerability of many people to exploitation in others.
From poverty to gender discrimination and inequality, addressing risk factors is fundamental to combating and preventing modern slavery. Effective responses to modern slavery must account for these drivers and risks if we are to achieve UN Sustainable Development Goal 8.7 by 2030.
Human trafficking
Defined by the UN Trafficking in Persons Protocol as involving recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of persons by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion with the intent of exploiting that person for sexual exploitation, forced labour, or slavery, among others forms.
The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation shall be considered “trafficking in persons” even if this does not involve threat, use of force or, coercion.
Debt bondage
Status or condition where one person has pledged their labour or services (or that of someone under their control), in circumstances where the fair value of that labour or service is not reasonably applied to reducing the debt or length of debt, or the length and nature of the service is not limited or defined.
Forced marriage
Any situation where persons, regardless of age, have been forced to marry without their consent.
Slavery and slavery-like practices
Defined in the 1926 Slavery Convention as the status or condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised. In a later treaty, states agreed that there are also certain “slavery-like practices”: debt bondage, forced or servile marriage, sale or exploitation of children (including in armed conflict), and descent-based slavery.
Forced labour
All work or service that is conducted under menace of penalty and for which the person has not offered themselves voluntarily.
Worst forms of child labour
Drawing on the 1999 Convention on Worst Forms of Child Labour, it includes situations where children are: exploited through slavery or slavery-like practices, including forced recruitment of children for use in armed conflict; used, procured, or offered for prostitution; used, procured, or offered for illicit activities including production and trafficking of drug; engaged in hazardous work which may harm their health, safety or morals.
Yeonmi Park
Women and girls are disproportionately affected by modern slavery, accounting for 71 per cent of the 40.3 million people living in modern slavery.
Measuring the extent and risk of modern slavery and the effectiveness of our global efforts to end it.
This toolkit is designed to help businesses and investors take action to improve human rights standards in their supply chains and combat forced labour, human trafficking and other forms of modern slavery.