modern slavery

I have recently been looking into some of the devastating problems that the modern world is facing. Among the most recognised issues such as the wars in Syria and the refugees (which do link into this) one of the problems that has really disgusted me is slavery and the impact that it has on the people as well as the environment. To learn that there are still problems with slavery was a big shock to me and I honestly didn’t comprehend the scale of the problem.

Being mix race slavery is something quite close to my heart and it makes me sick to think that once  it was very common. I studied The Slave Trade in History when I was in Year 8 and I learnt that slavery was abolished in 1833 and I never thought that it would be a problem again, especially not in the modern world. Many people may not be aware of the booming slave trade in the 1800s where people would kidnap Africans and then sell them as slaves in America.

In 2013 there was a 47% increase on the number of reported cases in 2012 however it is likely that there are more cases behind closed doors. There are many reasons as to why people end up as slaves and in the UK the most common reasons are poverty, limited housing and poor education. In the rest of the world other reasons include wars, unstable social and political conditions as well as economic imbalances.

Types of slavery in the UK include:

• Child trafficking – Under 18s are moved within households or in some cases across countrys and continents so that they can be exploited.
• Forced Labour – Victims of this are forced to work against their will under awful condditions and are often never paid.
• Sexual Exploitation – Victims are forced through acts of violence or verbal threats to perform sexual acts without giving their consent.
• Criminal Exploitation – Victims are forced to carry out crimes such as drug dealing and stealing.
• Domestic Labour – Victims are forced to carry out domestic chores and housework without being paid.
• Debt Bondage  – Victims are forced to work in order to pay off debts even though they may not ever be able to due to low wages and increased debts.

 In the rest of the world:

• All of the above apply
• Slave Mines – Many victims are refugees that are promised a better life by people that own the mines. They promise to provide them with shelter, food, water and job the costs of this effectively get put on a tab and the people work to pay off the debt. The only problem is that the victims are going to need more food, water and a place to live so the amount of money on their tab goes up and they have to work more and so they end up in an unbreakable cycle.

I hope that this information has opened your eyes to another very important problem that the world is facing even though it is definitely a more closeted issue.

Chantel 🙂

 

*Information sourced from Modern Slavery