LEARN MODERN SLAVERY

What is Modern Slavery?

Modern slavery is a serious crime. It encompasses slavery, servitude, and forced or compulsory labour and human trafficking. Modern slavery victims can often face more than one type of abuse and slavery, for example if they are sold to another trafficker or other form of forced exploitation.

I will be linking my discussion with domestic servitude, which is seemingly also a form of bonded labour. This form of slavery happens in various ways. Examples of such practice of a live-in help that is used for the exploitation and control of someone, it is a form of forced labour, but warrants its own category of slavery. However, it is apparent that victims of domestic servitude may appear to be nannies, or other domestic help, but the moment their employment arrangement transitions into a situation whereby they cannot leave on their own free will, it becomes a case of enslavement. This however, creates unique vulnerabilities for victims because it can isolate domestic workers and is conducive for exploitation because authorities cannot inspect homes as easily as the can formal workplaces.

International Definition of Terms

Force labour includes forced sexual services. It is also defined as all work or services exacted from a person under the threat of a penalty and for which the person has not offered himself or herself voluntarily. This includes three elements in its definition, the act, the means and object.

Sex trafficking/Exploitation is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons who under threat, force, fraud, deception or abuse of power are sexually exploited for the financial gain of another. Trafficked men, women and children are typically taken to brothels, escort services, massage parlours, strip clubs or hotels and are prostituted on the streets or forced to participate in pornography.

Forced marriage is an institution or practice where individuals don’t have the option to refuse or are promised and married to another by their parents, guardian, relatives or other people and groups. Early marriage is the forced marriage of a child, usually defined internationally as an individual under the age of 18. Sometimes called servile marriage, forced marriage also occurs when a wife is forcibly transferred to another in exchanged for some type of payment or when a window is given no choice and inherited by one of her husbands male relative. The key piece to forced marriage is that one of the marrying parties does not give his or her consent.

Child labour is the enslavement (i.e. sale, trafficking, debt bondage, serfdom, compulsory labour) of anyone under the age 18. This includes the use of children in armed conflict, prostitution and illegal activities such as drug trafficking, also any work deemed to be harmful to the health, safety or morals of child is considered to be child labour.

Forced Marriage

Domestic servitude can also be linked to forced marriage. Forced marriage is a marriage without the consent of one or both parties, most government considers forced marriage to be violation of human right. In the case of a minor it is also the case of child enslavement. Forced marriage is a mix of several forms of slavery, including forced labour, sexual enslavement and domestic servitude. Due to the often unofficial and undocumented nature of most forced marriages, statistics on forced marriage vary. Forced marriage can be coupled with other forms of slavery. Children who are trafficked for sex may also be sold into forced marriage. Adult who is forcibly married may then be trafficked for labour or sex by and for the financial gain of his or her spouse.

Sex Trafficking/Exploitation

Sex Trafficking/Exploitation is a crime when women, men and/or children are forcefully involved in commercial (source of funding /funding machine). According to worldwide statistic, it is estimated that there are 4.5 million victims of sex trafficking/exploitation. Worldwide, false promises are ways in which traffickers’ bait and enslave their victims - both adults and minors. Often traffickers keep victims under their control by saying that they will be free after all. As a result, when sex trafficking victims are caught, they might be detained and prosecuted for criminal activities as such as prostitution as such has some devastating consequences for trafficked individuals. Victims may suffer from long- lasting physical and psychological trauma, disease, drug addiction, malnutrition and social ostracism.

Child labour

Today more than a quarter of the world’s slaves are children. These children are forced to commit commercial sex acts, forced into a system of domestic servitude or employed in occupations that are mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Supply needs and industry demand for cheap, unskilled labour are some of the leading causes of child labour. Poverty leads these children to accept the job, or their parents ask them to work to supplement the family income. These supply and demand factors are reinforced by systemic, structural issues such as lack of access to education, inadequate employment opportunities for the education, corruption and social stratification.

Child Sex Trafficking

An influx in sex tourism, the insatiable demand for child pornography and greed play key roles in the prevalence of child sex slavery and trafficking. In addition to strangers, family and close friends have been known to sell children off to individuals, businesses and groups involved in sex industry. However, adolescence are chosen by traffickers for different reasons.

Although kids from broken families, runaways and poor children are higher risk of being trafficked, middle and upper-class children may also be targeted. It is argued that generally online predators and individuals looking to profit from the sex trade pick children that have certain insecurities and vulnerabilities – someone they can manipulate and dominate. It is through this manipulation and domination that traffickers are able to continuously sell and profit from the children.

Child sexual slavery and trafficking are connected to other forms of slavery. Children may be forced into domestic servitude and along the way are sexually abused by their new family. At times, minors are forced into marrying to give the family financial stability or pay off a debt.

Exploitative Working Condition

Force labour is different from sub-standard or exploitative working conditions found in some employment opportunities worldwide. Victims of unfair or low wages are not enslaved because they do not work under the threat of a penalty or without volunteering their employment. Their employment is a different form of exploitation, though related to the similar desire to generate a profit.

Bounded Labour

Bounded labour is also known as debt bondage and peonage when people give themselves into slavery as security against a loan or when they inherit a debt from relative. It is designed to exploit workers, it can be made to look like an employment agreement but one where the worker starts with a debt to repay usually in brutal conditions – only to find out that repayment of loan is impossible. Then their enslavement become permanent. Bonded labour throughout the world requires the criminalisation of bounded labour as a form of trafficking. Still, this particular system of slavery is deeply entrenched around the world.

You have rights

You may feel scared, powerless and alone. However, help is available and have rights and choices. You have the right to independent emotional, medical and practical help. This support includes:

• Finding you temporary safe accommodation

• Helping you with medical treatment

• Having someone to help you cope with your experience

• Providing an interpreter/ translator to help you communicate

• Protection: modern slavery and human trafficking is a crime

Individuals identified as potential victims of modern slavery are entitled to a minimum recovery and reflection period of some time. In countries such as the United Kingdom and majority of well developed countries, when identified as a victim of slavery, then you will be entitled to help and protection from the government also known as the national referral mechanism.

In you want to find out more on this topic and how we can help your organisation ensure you comply with the modern slavery act, please get in touch with us on 01163669989.