Slavery

What is slavery today? A short summary

Questions and Answers about Slavery

What is a slave today?

A slave today is a man, women or child who is forced to work and controlled by another person. There are over 12 million slaves around the world (International Labour Organisation) and may be as many as 27 million. Most slaves are in bonded labour mainly in Asia or Latin America, this results from a family debt which can’t be repaid. In the past slaves were transported across the Atlantic. Today over 2 ½ million slaves are trafficked in West Africa, across Europe and between Mexico and the US. There could be up to 8 million children in slavery. Slaves today are worth less in real terms than 200 years ago.

Boy from Haiti

Dieusibon Delice ran away from the abuses he faced as a child domestic worker and is now living in a shelter in Haiti
© Alex Smailes/COLORS

A slave is:

Forced to work
Controlled by another person who uses forms of abuse
Treated as a commodity
Physically not free to move

How many slaves are there now?

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) minimum estimated in 2005 there were 12.3 million.

The ‘Free the Slaves’ organisation estimates 27 million, more than at any time in human history!

What types of slaves exist today?

Bonded labour, 9.5 million (ILO) resulting from a family debt which can’t be repaid
Forced labour, illegally recruited and forced to work
Trafficking people 2.5 million (ILO), for example transporting women for sexual exploitation and domestic work
Worst forms of child labour, 126million children (ILO estimate) are doing harmful work of which over 8 million are in slavery

Where are all these slaves?

Slaves are found all over the world including in the UK.

Slaves in debt bondage are found mainly in Asia but also in Latin America.
Trafficking is common in West Africa, across Europe and between Mexico and the US

Are slaves today the same as slaves 200 years ago?

200 years ago slaves were seen as chattel to be transported from Africa to the Americas and the Caribbean to be bought and sold.

In Britain until 1807 the trade was legal, morally legitimate and seen as in the interests of the nation. Slaves had a high financial value.
Today slavery is illegal, considered immoral and slaves have a low financial value but there are more slaves now than 200 years ago.

Who resisted slavery 200 years ago?

First and foremost the slaves themselves. Toussaint L’Overture led a successful slave rebellion in St. Dominigue and defeated both the French and British armies
The Abolitionist movement both black and white like Cugoano and Equiano together with Sharp, Clarkson and Wilberforce
The public boycotting slave produced sugar

How can slavery be ended today?

Through strong government action in their own country and by enforcing international agreements
By tackling poverty and discrimination linking combating slavery to long term development through the Millennium Development Goals
By large companies working through the Ethical Trading Initiative to inspect their long supply chains more vigorously

What would it cost to end slavery for good?

Surprisingly little! To buy all bonded labourers out of slavery would cost as little as £20 per family. Stopping criminal human trafficking would be the most expensive.
Total cost could be £5.5 billion equal to 1% of the UK government annual budget or 1 week’s cost of the war in Iraq (Kevin Bales author of ‘Disposable People’ speaking at a Slavery conference in Hull)

What is the difference between sweatshop or migrant labour and slavery?

The difference between slavery and extremely exploitative labour can be a thin line.

Sweatshop workers and migrant labourers are exploited by being paid very little, forced to work long hours and often abused at their workplace.
Slaves are subjected to all these conditions, but additionally they have lost their free will — they cannot walk away. Most slaves are paid nothing at all, and the physical and psychological violence used against them is so complete that they cannot escape their condition as a slave.

Which companies use slave-labour and how can I purchase responsibly?

It is very difficult to identify multinationals companies who are profiting from slave labour, and many of the multinationals may be unaware of slavery in their complex supply chains. This does not benefit multinationals, because:

They are unable to guarantee that their products are slave-free without making the supply chains completely transparent to consumers.
Some of the industries where slave labour is known or highly suspected are cocoa, cotton, steel, oriental rugs, diamonds and silk.
At this time, the only guaranteed slave-free goods are Fair Trade certified products.

What can I do now?

As a citizen:

support campaigns such as Anti-Slavery www.antislavery.org
ask Home Office Minister, Vernon Coaker MP to sign the European Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings www.amnesty.org.uk note: On 22 January 2007 the Government announced that it will sign the Council of Europe Convention on trafficking.
lobby politicians to support achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 to halve the one billion people still living on less that $1 a day and to allow all primary children to go to school www.un.org/millenniumgoals

As a consumer

buy Fair trade products which guarantee producers a fair price and decent working conditions www.fairtrade.org
For clothes buy products made using Fairtrade cotton or from ethical suppliers www.ethicaltrade.org

For rugs and carpets, where child labour is often used, try Rugmark www.rugmark.net

Sobho agricultural bonded labourer, Pakistan
Credit: Shakil Pathan/Anti-Slavery International

Many children face physical violence, rape and mental abuse. Without the love and support of their own families they become traumatised and are left emotionally scarred for life.
Credit: ESAM/Anti-Slavery International

Child Domestics frequently suffer a wide range of abuses, including physical or verbal abuse and sexual violence.
Credit: Visayan Forum/Anti-Slavery International

A person becomes a bonded labourer when his or her labour is demanded as a means of repayment for a loan. The person is then tricked or trapped into working for very little or no pay, often for seven days a week.
Credit: Shakil Pathan/Anti-Slavery International

Ahmed was returned on 1 November 2002 after a Bangladesh official identified him during a visit to Dubai. Now in school, his mother urges, “protect these children. Don't send them to other countries into such dangerous work”.
Credit: CPD/Anti-Slavery International

Former Carpet Weaver