50 million people are in modern slavery, show ILO estimates

• The United Nations observes the ‘International Day for the Abolition of Slavery’ on December 2.

• It marks the date of the adoption of the United Nations Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others by the General Assembly on December 2, 1949.

• The focus of this day is on eradicating contemporary forms of slavery, such as trafficking in persons, sexual exploitation, the worst forms of child labour, forced marriage, and the forced recruitment of children for use in armed conflict.

Modern slavery is on the rise

• Forced labour refers to “all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily”.

• Latest estimates by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) show that forced labour and forced marriage have increased significantly in the last five years. 

• About 10 million more people were in modern slavery in 2021 compared to 2016 global estimates.

• An estimated 50 million people are in modern slavery, including 28 million in forced labour and 22 million in forced marriage.

• Almost one in eight of all those in forced labour are children. More than half of these children are in commercial sexual exploitation.

• Most cases of forced labour (86 per cent) are found in the private sector.

• Almost four out of five of those in forced commercial sexual exploitation are women or girls.

• The main sectors affected are industry, services, agriculture and domestic work, which together account for 89 per cent of forced labour cases. 

• Although modern slavery is not defined in law, it is used as an umbrella term covering practices such as forced labour, debt bondage, forced marriage, and human trafficking. 

• 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.

• Modern slavery occurs in almost every country in the world, and cuts across ethnic, cultural and religious lines. 

• More than half (52 per cent) of all forced labour and a quarter of all forced marriages can be found in upper-middle income or high-income countries.

• ILO has adopted a legally binding Protocol designed to strengthen global efforts to eliminate forced labour, which entered into force in November 2016.

Global annual profit from forced labour 

• The annual global profit generated from forced labour is estimated at $236 billion. 

• This amount represents wages effectively stolen from workers, particularly affecting those already struggling to support their families. 

• For migrant workers, it means less money being sent back home. 

• Additionally, governments lose tax revenue due to the illegal nature of these profits, which can also foster further exploitation, empower criminal networks, and undermine the rule of law.

• The Profits and Poverty report reveals that the profits are alarmingly high and have surged over the past decade, driven by an increase in forced labour and higher profits per victim.