There are now 49.6 million people in modern slavery around the world, according to the latest Global Estimates of Modern Slavery report released today by the International Labour Organization (ILO), Walk Free, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). This reflects a rise of more than 23 per cent from 2016, when the last global estimates were calculated.
The challenge of modern slavery – which for the purpose of the report comprises forced labour and forced marriage – appears to continue to grow, say the authors. According to these latest figures, forced labour accounts for 27.6 million of those in modern slavery – an increase of 2.7 million and a rise in prevalence from 3.4 to 3.5 per thousand people. In addition, an estimated 22 million people were living in forced marriages between 2016 and 2021, an increase of 6.6 million and a rise in prevalence from 2.1 to 2.8 per thousand people.
While the data only partially reflects the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and other compounding crises such as armed conflict and climate change, the report highlights the ways in which they have led to unprecedented disruption to employment and education, increases in extreme poverty and forced and unsafe migration, and an upsurge in reports of gender-based violence – all serving to heighten the risk of forced labour and forced marriage.
Increase in privately imposed forced labour
The new report – the second produced jointly by the three organisations – draws a distinction between forced labour imposed by private agents and state-imposed forced labour. Additionally, within privately imposed forced labour, it distinguishes between “forced labour exploitation”, which means forced labour in sectors other than commercial sexual exploitation, and “forced commercial sexual exploitation”. The estimates suggest that the rise in forced labour between 2016 and 2021 was driven entirely by privately imposed forced labour, with forced labour exploitation up by 1.3 million and forced commercial sexual exploitation up by an even larger number – 1.5 million – over the 2016 to 2021 period.
The estimates of forced labour in the private economy were derived from nationally representative household surveys in 68 countries, while the estimation of forced commercial sexual exploitation and the commercial sexual exploitation of children required a different methodological approach and was calculated using two datasets: the national survey data on forced labour of adults and the Counter Trafficking Data Collaborative (CTDC) dataset, which consists of case data collected by IOM and its partners while providing protection and assistance services to victims of human trafficking. The information underscores a close link between forced commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking as – along with other sources – the CTDC reports a large proportion of identified cases involving trafficking for sexual exploitation.
The crises heightening modern slavery risks
The report also mentions the numerous large-scale crises currently unfolding worldwide, and the population displacements and heightened vulnerability associated with them. Disruptions to income because of the pandemic have led to greater indebtedness among workers and with that have come reports of a rise in debt bondage, says the report. The crisis has also resulted in a deterioration of working conditions for many workers, in some cases leading to forced labour. Yet little is known about how forced labour risks have evolved since the initial months of the crisis, however, the World Bank indicates that extreme poverty remains far higher than the pre-pandemic trajectory and the ILO reports that employment recovery has stalled in much of the world.
Moreover, such crises are cited as having increased the risk of forced and child marriage due to factors including unprecedented increases in extreme poverty, lower education rates, a rise in distress migration, and significant increases in reports of gender-based violence. Girls and women are forced to marry in exchange for payment to their families, the cancellation of debt, or to settle family disputes, while fundamentalist religious and social norms that limit access to sexual and reproductive health rights also play a role.
Priorities for action
Finally, the new Global Estimates report underscores the scale of the challenge facing the international community in the short period remaining before 2030, the date when the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Target 8.7 of ending modern slavery universally is scheduled to be met. However, the report also notes that the overall rise in modern slavery masks numerous contexts that have registered significant reductions in this crime, offering key insights into the policy choices needed for progress. Among many others, suggested key priorities include building societal resilience to crises, increased international cooperation and partnership, and the sharing of data and knowledge to address evidence gaps and measure the impact of initiatives and legal approaches designed to combat forced labour, modern slavery, and trafficking in persons.
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