Humanity United

It is estimated that as many as 27 million people are enslaved around the world today, more than at any other time in history.

What Is Modern-Day Slavery?

Modern-day slavery, also sometimes referred to as human trafficking, is a 21st-century problem. The uneven hand of globalization has left a vast number of impoverished, vulnerable, and easily exploited people; as a result the global market for slave labor is growing - from carpets hand-knotted by child slaves in India to women enslaved for sexual servitude around the world to men confined and forced to pick crops in Florida.

The terms human trafficking and slavery are often used loosely and even interchangeably; indeed, there is no universally accepted definition of these terms. One common definition for slavery, also referred to as modern-day slavery, is "the condition of being held against one's will for the purpose of economic exploitation." The use of the term trafficking, or human trafficking, however is less consistent. Some experts refer to human trafficking as "the process of being transported against one's will - through force, fraud, or coercion - for the purposes of economic exploitation." Such transportation can be across or within international boundaries. Those who define trafficking this way tend to view it not as tantamount to slavery but as a subset of slavery. Other experts refer to human trafficking less in terms of "transport" and more in terms of "commerce" - that is, the sale of human beings as commodities. For this group, the term human trafficking is synonymous with slavery. Humanity United is focused on ending and preventing slavery and human trafficking in every form and derivation.

Modern-day slavery can take many forms. Perhaps the most widely publicized is the practice of commercial sexual exploitation, typically of women and children. However, around the world today many other types of slavery are also important to recognize and address. Forced labor occurs when a person is forced by governments, business enterprises, or individuals to work without pay under the threat of violence. Bonded labor occurs when a person is given a loan but then told that their loan can never be repaid, and they are held against their will and forced to work for no pay. Hereditary slavery occurs when a person is born into slavery.

Modern-day slavery thrives for a number of reasons. Many individuals and communities are living on the edge of despair. People in search of a better life leave their communities, accepting purported job offers that turn out to be traps into slavery. Parents often send their children to work in cities or even neighboring countries, sometimes unaware that the children are being consigned to a life of forced labor or sexual exploitation. Corruption and a lack of basic laws and law enforcement also contribute to the rising phenomenon, and many governments are ill-equipped or unwilling to address the problem. Markets remain unregulated, and as the informal sector and underground economies thrive, the number of victims increases in line with the demand for cheap labor in national and international economies.

What Is the Impact of Modern-Day Slavery?

slavery causes devastating social, psychological, and health consequences for individuals, families, and communities. Government legitimacy is undermined, as governments fail or choose not to provide protection and opportunities to the most vulnerable in their societies.

In criminal terms, modern-day slavery is the third-largest illegal businesses worldwide, after drugs and arms. It is estimated that profits hover in the range of US$32 billion per year. Moreover, the so-called slavery industry is a drain on legitimate business and economic development, as well as a source of income and contacts that facilitate other criminal activities.

How Can Modern-Day Slavery Be Ended?

New technologies and the globalization of information is helping people find new ways to organize and communicate to fight traffickers and slaveholders. People within communities around the world are joining together to shed new light on one of the oldest insights of all - that our common humanity is worth more than the money made by treating human beings as chattel.

Awareness is growing among law enforcement officials, government leaders, and the broader community, and the season of change is upon us. Humanity United believes that we can end slavery forever. To do that, we need to better understand the root causes and build deeper cooperation to work against it from the ground up; that means starting in the communities where slaves are "recruited" or tricked into slavery, as well as in all the places where slaves are taken and used, and where slave-produced products are sold.

More investment needs to be made in prevention through providing education, awareness, and economic alternatives to those most vulnerable to becoming victims of slavery. Legal, economic, and psychological services for victims is also an important part of the solution, and can help those who have been rescued from slavery avoid falling back into the same situation. Similarly, the legal infrastructure can also be enhanced to ensure prosecution and punishment of traffickers and slaveholders.

Each of us has a role to play in the fight against modern-day slavery. With government, businesses, civil society, and individuals working together in communities, as well as at the national and international levels, we can make slavery history.