Modern Day Slavery today
Modern-day Day Slavery is an ongoing human rights violation and crime that takes place every day around the world.
The estimated human trafficking profits generated worldwide a year is close to $150 billion; $99 billion profit is gained from commercial sexual exploitation, whereas $34 Billion comes from forced labor/modern-day slavery.
In the 1800s, a slave was worth the equivalent of $40 000 on average. Today, a human trafficking victim is worth an average of $90; these are men, women, and children. Traffickers could be family members or friends offering a better life in another country.
Once you agree to a better life or a better salary, traffickers will typically transport you to another country or continent. Once you arrive, you will immediately be forced into manual labor or sexual exploitation to repay the human trafficker for getting you to this point.
Often forced to work long hours in horrendous working conditions without pay, victims are beaten, sexually assaulted, and starved into submission. Modern-day slavery is everywhere, often overlooked and forgotten.
The signs of modern day slavery could range from any of these signs. Living with their employers or being transported from their working site to their living quarters by a “guard.” The living quarters will be cramped and often locked from the outside, with bars on all the windows. Preventing the victims from leaving or escaping.
Victims will often show signs of physical and emotional abuse, too afraid to talk or look at anyone. Victims will be paid very little or not at all, and they will also not be allowed to leave their worksite or living quarters unchaperoned.
Modern-day slavery victims are often forced to work in the construction, mining, and manufacturing industries. It has been estimated that 130 people fall victim to human trafficking every hour in the world.
In 2016, 152 million children were child labor victims; some were as young as four years old.
The idea of buying or selling human beings might be unthinkable to you; however, this takes place worldwide, regardless of age, gender, religion, or social status. It has become a profitable and lucrative crime globally; this does not only happen in developing countries where victims have no choice. Human trafficking is happening in first-world countries too, and it has been said that the human trafficking industry is worth $9.5 billion a year in the USA alone.
We need to be more aware of our communities, and we need to educate children and people about the dangers and make them aware of what goes on in the world. Don’t be naïve and think this is happening somewhere else in the world; this is happening in your town or maybe even in your suburb.
The signs of modern day slavery could range from any of these signs. Living with their employers or being transported from their working site to their living quarters by a “guard.” The living quarters will be cramped and often locked from the outside, with bars on all the windows. Preventing the victims from leaving or escaping.