Global slavery

1. Global slavery Deborah Henderson Western Washington University

2. Slavery defined “A social and economic relationship in which a person is controlled through violence or the threat of violence, is paid nothing, and is economically exploited” (Bales & Cornell, 2008) • The key to slavery is violent control, the fact that a person cannot walk away; the loss of free will • In parts of the world a slave can be purchased for as little as $10 (US) • In the past slavery was usually a lifelong condition; today it is often temporary, lasting a few months to a few years. This short term slavery is dangerous because the slaveholder has less incentive to keep slaves healthy or even alive. • Globalized – Forms of slavery in different parts of the world are becoming more alike; the way slaves are used and the part slaves play in the world economy • Slavery is illegal in virtually every country

3. SLAVERYTODAY “Courtesy of Googleimages”

4. Scope of global slavery • There are an estimated 29.8 million people in modern slavery globally • The countries with the highest estimated numbers of enslaved are India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Russia, Thailand, Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, and Bangladesh; accounting for 76% of the total 29.8 million enslaved • The top ten countries ranked for their low prevalence enslaved are Ireland, Iceland, UK, New Zealand Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Luxembourg, and Denmark • It is estimated that 72.7% of the 29.8 million people in modern slavery are in Asia • The country with the largest estimated number of people enslaved is India; between 13,300,000-14,700,000 (“The Global,” 2013)

5. LOWER PREVELANCE OF MODERN SLAVERY TO HIGHER PREVELANCE OF MODERN SLAVERY GREY INDICATES THAT IT IS NOT INCLUDED SCOPE OF GLOBAL SLAVERY “Courtesy of Googleimages”

6. A PICTURE OF SLAVERY There are families who have been in slavery for generations and people who were just enslaved today There are governments that enslave their own citizens There is slavery caused when environmental destruction pushes poor people to slavery Both slaveholders and communities turn a blind eye to slavery, concealing and justifying this crime “Courtesy of Googleimages”

7. 3 MAIN GROUPS of slavery • Human Trafficking – When people are fraudulently recruited or kidnapped and then moved across borders or over distances within a country into a situation of enslavement • Debt Bondage - Enslavement that comes through the terms of a loan, where a person pledges their labor as repayment for a loan; their lives become collateral against the debt. The services required to repay the debt and duration are often undefined. Debt bondage is often passed on from generation to generation • Forced Labor - While all slavery is a kind of forced labor, this term has the special meaning of slavery that is practiced not by a person but by a government or some other official group. “Courtesy of Googleimages”

8. Slavery today “Courtesy of Googleimages”

9. “Courtesy of Googleimages” Human trafficking • Underlying factors at work that foster trafficking • Within the original countries, where trafficked people are recruited there is a seemingly endless supply of victims available for exploitation • Within the destination countries, where trafficked people are sent, there is an endless demand for the victim’s services • Organized criminal networks both large and small have taken control of this “supply and demand” situation to traffic and enslave people in order to generate enormous profits for themselves. • Across the globe, the International Labor Organization estimates that there are 2.4 million people who have been trafficked into slavery with an estimated 31.6 billion dollar profit (Bales & Cornell, 2008) • Human trafficking is a crime that normally goes unpunished; in the United States the annual percentage of trafficking and slavery cases solved is less than 1%; approximately 17,000 people are trafficked annually into the US (Bales & Cornell, 2008)

10. Human trafficking CAMEL JOCKEYS Children are trafficked from India and Sudan and sold into slavery as camel jockeys to the United Arab Emirates, These children are often sold by poor families that cannot support them Slavery is outlawed in UAE but this practice persists, even after declarations by the ruler to end this atrocity These children are severely maltreated through beatings and molestations This is a profitable business for the owners “Courtesy of Googleimages” (Degorge, 2006)

11. Slavery today “Courtesy of Googleimages”

12. DEBT BONDAGE • In Nepal, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan more than 10 million people are held in debt bondage. In Uttar Pradesh, entire villages are enslaved through debt bondage and entire families are forced to work in the fields or rock quarries (Bales & Cornell, 2008) • Children are not allowed to go to school and slaveholders sexually assault the women • Debt bondage and slavery are illegal in India but rich and powerful farmers and moneylenders bribe police to look the other way • Debt bondage has been practiced so long it is regarded as normal. Owners justify it saying families aren’t capable of caring for themselves and bonded families may have no idea that freedom is possible • Since the family can’t normally earn any money except through the work it does, and the slaveholder owns that work as his collateral, the debt can never be repaid.

13. DEBT BONDAGE BONDED LABOR IN INDIA METHODS FOR INTERVENTION Deception and coercion are at the roots of the bonded labor system in India: social or cultural, psychological, and physical deception and coercion Mudalalis (owners) manipulate Indian social and cultural values of respect and Hinduism There is a conservative estimated 10 million bonded child slaves in India alone Emergency relief by removing a victim from their abusive situation Ensuring perpetrators of bonded slavery are brought to account for their crimes Structural prevention by implementing constructive changes in legislation and policy Victim specific care (Boutros, 2005)

14. Slavery today “Courtesy of Googleimages”

15. FORCED LABOR • Today the country of Uzbekistan sends most of its school and college students into the cotton fields for up to 3 months each year, they have no choice in the matter. Cotton is Uzbekistan’s main export worth over $1 billion • In China much of the countries penal system has been converted into factories for the export trade. Large numbers of people are caught up in the state-owned prison factories by a system that arrests people for exercising free speech or practicing their religion. Large portions of these goods are exported to North America • The country of Burma (Myanmar) operates as a private business benefiting the general who runs the government, becoming rich by forcing whole villages to work for him. Soldiers take whatever they want, often attacking and raping women. Mining and lumber cutting is forced through gunpoint and there is no pay, while schools and hospitals crumble

16. FORCED LABOR (Re, 2002) SLAVERY IN SUDAN Sudanese slaves are captured during military raids performed and supported by their own government The Sudanese government denies involvement It is thought that this may be a tactic by the ruling Northern Sudan to depopulate southern agitators who strive for independence or who oppose the construction of a lucrative oil pipeline, funded by foreign capital “Courtesy of Googleimages”

17. Global governance – Indiaestimated number enslaved 13,000,000 -14,700,000 THE PROBLEM The world’s second most populous country with a population of over1.2 billion people, India exhibits the full spectrum of different forms of modern slavery The challenge is the enormity of the problem, both in number of trafficked persons and increasing number of locations Cross-border migration affects India on a massive scale The difficulty for internal migrant workers in accessing protections and government entitlements, such as the food rations card, based on a worker’s residence, is thought to increase vulnerability to exploitation For those enslaved in their own area, corruption or non-performance of safety nets (such as food rations, primary health care and pensions) and practices of land grabbing and asset domination by high caste groups or for commercial development leaves people without protections Sexual exploitation of Indian women, men and transgender people within India, both adults and children is widespread The World Bank estimated in 2012 that 32.7% of Indians lived below the international poverty line of less than US$1.25/day.. Poverty is a significant contributing factor to its modern slavery problem The low status of women and severity and prevalence of domestic violence in society puts them at risk of modern slavery (“The Global,” 2013)

18. Global governance – India WHAT IS BEING DONE An important direction is the Supreme Court judgment of mandating rural and urban local bodies to report cases of bonded labor to the District Magistrates On 15 October 2012, the Supreme Court issued a judgment, requiring all states to carry out surveys to identify and release those in bonded labor In 2011, Indian National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), established a Core Group on Bonded Labor. The Core Group brings together government and non-government actors working to end bonded labor to review laws and policies, identify best practice, and coordinate the country’s response. It appears the core group has only met once The enactment of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act in 2012 and the recent increase in activity of the National Commission for the Protection of Children’s Rights are important measures that demonstrate the Government’s renewed commitment to fighting against the exploitation of children The Ministry of Home Affairs, along with UNODC, developed standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the identification of victims of trafficking, in 2009. State governments were advised to implement them, but as of March 2013 no evaluation of the implementation of the SOPs has been conducted India has ratified a number of key Conventions relevant to modern slavery. However, India is one of the few remaining countries in the world not to have ratified the Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention. India’s Right to Education ensuring all children of school going age are in school is important, as is the Integrated Child Protection Scheme, which is making a difference in some areas. There have been efforts in many places to enforce child labor laws. India has not ratified the Domestic Work Convention Significant gaps remain in the support provided to victims of modern slavery in India (“The Global,” 2013)

19. Slavery today “Courtesy of Googleimages”

20. GLOBAL GOVERNANCE – IRELAND ESTISTIMATED NUMBER ENSLAVED 300-340 THE PROBLEM Modern slavery in Ireland affects men, women and children. It is a ‘source’ and ‘transit’ country for victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation, forced labor and forced criminal activity Similarly to neighboring United Kingdom, children get trafficked to Ireland to work on cannabis farms There have also been cases of children being sexually exploited, and exploited through domestic servitude, benefit fraud, sweatshop or restaurant work, illegal removal of organs, illegal adoption, forced begging and pick-pocketing For men and women, other forms of modern slavery include domestic, construction, and agricultural work, as well as labor in the catering and entertainment industries According to government statistics, the majority of victims identified of modern slavery are women who have been trafficked for sexual exploitation, but some men and minors have also been involved in this type of exploitation Women have also been found to be working in conditions of modern slavery as domestic workers, particularly in the homes of foreign diplomats Most victims originate from West Africa and some other parts of Africa. Others come from within the European Union including Ireland itself. To a lesser extent, victims originate from non-EU Europe, Asia, particularly South Asia and Latin America (“The Global,” 2013)

21. GLOBAL GOVERNANCE – IRELAND WHAT IS BEING DONE The Irish Government has ratified a number of slavery treaties but not the Domestic Work Convention. Ireland ratified the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings in 2010 In 2008, the Government passed the Criminal Law Act, which criminalizes the trafficking of persons. This Act was an amendment to the 1998 Child Trafficking and Pornography Act In June 2013, Ireland’s existing laws on modern slavery were amended to include reference to trafficking for forced begging and trafficking for criminal activities, which means that people subjected to all forms of modern slavery are now recognized as victims of a crime, and perpetrators can be prosecuted The National Action Plan’s strategy to tackle human trafficking is a four tiered approach, including: Prevention, Protection, Prosecution and Child Trafficking An inter-agency National Referral Mechanism is in place to provide assistance to victims from the point of identification to reintegration into society The Director of Public Prosecutions has appointed particular prosecutors to deal with cases involving human trafficking with the knowledge and guidelines necessary forsuch cases, including sensitization regarding cases involving victims who broke the law as a result of being in a coerced situation Special attention is placed on victims of child trafficking, with a focus on raising public awareness, training professionals, and strengthening inter-governmental agencies Identified victims of modern slavery are provided with state-funded support through the Reception and Integration Agency (RIA). They are given material assistance, health screenings, and legal aid. The Irish Government, in 2010, provided funding to some civil society organizations working in the field of modern slavery (“The Global,” 2013)

22. Slavery today “Courtesy of Googleimages”

23. GLOBAL Economy • An estimate of all the work done by slaves in the whole world in a year is worth about $13 billion; about the same amount spam emails cost the commercial world each year • A study by the United Nations in 2005 estimated that the global profits from human trafficking were about $31 billion a year. This seems like a lot of money but Americans throw away this amount of food each year. • It terms of the world economy the global slave business is not worth much. It is only a drop in a very large ocean • While slaveholders make a high rate of profit (approximately 5-8 million slaveholders in the world), the slaves (who are used in low-value work) part in the global economy is very small (Bales & Cornell, 2008)

24. Social & protective determinants SOCIAL DETERMINANTS THAT FACILITATE TRAFFICKING • Poverty • Female gender • Lack of policy and enforcement • Age • Migration • Displacement and Conflict • Ethnicity • Culture • Ignorance of trafficking methods • Caste status PROTECTIVE DETERMINANTS THAT MITIGATE TRAFFICKING • Formal education • Citizenship • Maternal education • Birth order • Higher cast status (Perry & McEwing, 2013) “Courtesy of Googleimages”

25. SLAVERY TODAY “Courtesy of Googleimages”

26. Ending slavery NATURE OF SLAVERY • The costs of exploiting a slave are tiny as weighted against the large profits that criminals reap • The supply of modern trafficked slaves is promoted by longstanding factors such as poverty, lawlessness, and social instability • Forces of demand exist within modern slavery: slave exploiter demand for maximum profit and consumer demand for lower prices ENDING SLAVERY • Attack profitability by elevating risk, for example proactive law enforcement and expansion of community based antislavery action • Increased prosecution for slave exploiters • Economic consequences of increased penalties for slave exploiters • Leveraging consumer power to products that are morally and sociably responsible (Kara, 2011)

27. References Bales, K., & Cornell, B. (2008). Slavery today. Berkley, CA: Groundwood. Boutros, H. (2005). India’s modern slaves: Bonded labor in India and methods of intervention. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 12, 121-126. Degorge, B. (2006). Modern day slavery in the United Arab Emirates. European Legacy, 11(6), 657-666. doi:10.1080/10848770600918307 Google Images. (2014, May 10). Retrieved from http://www.google.com/imghp Kara, S. (2011). Supply and demand. Harvard International Review, 33(2), 66-71. Perry, K., & McEwing, L. (2013). How do social determinants affect human trafficking in Southeast Asia, and what can we do about it? A systematic review. Health and Human Rights, 15(2), 138-159. Re, R. (2002). A persistent evil. Harvard International Review, 23(4), 32-35. The global slavery index 2013. (2013). Retrieved April 22, 2014 from Walk Free Foundation website: http://www.globalslaveryindex.org/report/ Van de Glind, H., & Kooijmans, J. (2008). Modern day child slavery. Children & Society, 22(3), 150-166.