By Anne RinaudoTuesday 31 Jul 2018Open House InterviewsLifeReading Time: 6 minutes
Listen: Jacqueline Juodo Larsen, who is the head of research for the Global Slavery Index in conversation with Stephen O’Doherty.
The 2018 Global Slavery Index (GSI) has been released at the United Nations in New York. A major finding is that developed nation are far more exposed to slavery within their borders than previously thought
The report found that the number of people falling victim to modern slavery in developed countries is far higher than previously thought, shifting pressure on those countries to step up their efforts to combat the problem.
A global problem
Jacqueline Juodo Larsen, head of research for the Global Slavery Index told Stephen O’Doherty on Open House the data highlights the truly global nature of forced labour, forced marriage and forced sexual exploitation, and the role many rich countries play in exploiting the most vulnerable.
The Global Slavery Index is a project of the Walk Free Foundation, established by businessman and philanthropist, Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest and his wife, Nicola.
Modern slaves in USA, UK and Australia
The 2018 Global Slavery Index shows 403,000 people are living in modern slavery in the US, or 1 in 800 Americans, seven-times higher than previous estimates. The prevalence of modern slavery in the UK is almost 12-times higher than previous figures.
The Global Slavery Index 2018 estimates that on any given day in 2016, there were 15,000 living in conditions of modern slavery in Australia, a prevalence of 0.6 victims of modern slavery for every thousand people in the country.
The data highlights the truly global nature of forced labour, forced marriage and forced sexual exploitation, and the role many rich countries play in exploiting the most vulnerable.
40.3 million modern slaves
Walk Free Foundation, has a multi-faceted approach to engage faiths, businesses, academics, civil society organisations and governments in global initiatives to drive change and build awareness around the complex and often hidden nature of modern slavery.
An estimated 40.3 million people are victims of modern slavery across the world. Those highest at risk include those who are physically or linguistically isolated, culturally disoriented, subjected to crushing debts and have little to no knowledge of their rights.
Mining Global Slavery Index
Papal concern
Pope Francis has called on all people of faith to act “Its victims are from all walks of life, but are most frequently among the poorest and most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters. On behalf of all of them, our communities of faith are called to reject, without exception, any systematic deprivation of individual freedom for the purposes of personal or commercial exploitation.”
Index includes largest survey ever
The improved measures of modern slavery draw from the largest survey of its kind ever conducted, covering nearly twice the number of countries surveyed previously.
Face to face interviews with over 70,000 respondents revealed that while surveys were conducted in 48 countries, men, women, and children were exploited in 79 countries, including high rates of exploitation in many developed countries.
Workers on a tomato farm Global Slavery Index
“Appalling human crime”
“The responsibility that developed countries have for modern slavery, revealed by this new data, is a huge wakeup call,” said Andrew Forrest, the Australian philanthropist and businessman who founded the Global Slavery Index.
“The pressure to respond to this appalling human crime must shift from poorer countries to richer nations that have the resources and institutions to do much better. It is flourishing right under our noses.
A picture taken in November, 2017 shows African migrants sitting in a packed room with their beds and blankets, at the Tariq Al-Matar detention centre on the outskirts of the Libyan capital Tripoli. These detention centres centres have been used as staging pens for human trafficking. Photo credit: Taha Jawashi/AFP/Getty Images
From the mouths of victims
“It’s widely accepted that most crimes go unreported and unrecorded, because the victims are marginalised and vulnerable, and the black economy thrives where accountability is absent. This report demonstrates, straight from the mouths of some of the 40.3 million victims of modern slavery, that these deplorable crimes continue happening out of sight, and at a tragic scale.
“We cannot sit back while millions of women, girls, men and boys around the world are having their lives destroyed and their potential extinguished by criminals seeking a quick profit.”
Developed countries exposed in supply chain
The 2018 GSI also reveals developed countries are heavily exposed to the risk of slavery within their supply chains. G20 countries annually import over $US354bn ‘at risk’ products, produced from sectors in countries where people are subjected to forced labour.
The US is by far the largest importer of at risk products ($US144bn). The US figure is three times that of the second largest G20 importer Japan ($US47bn), while Germany ($US30bn), the UK ($US18bn) and France ($US16bn) complete the top five.
Tech goods, clothing and food
The research found laptops, computers and mobile phones proved to be the largest category of at risk imports by dollar value ($US200.1bn), followed by garments ($US127.7bn), fish ($US12.9bn), cocoa (US$3.6bn) and sugar cane ($US2.1bn).
Poorly regulated issue
“What is most striking about the findings is that this is a truly global but poorly regulated issue – with a range of factors driving exploitation in different countries,” said Fiona David, executive director of research at the Walk Free Foundation, the charity responsible for the GSI report.
“The prevalence of modern slavery is driven through conflict and oppression, but it’s also derived in more developed countries from consumer demand for the latest goods at the best possible price. We need different strategies in different regions to address the many drivers of modern slavery. The common element is that every country must act.”
Products linked to modern slavery
The top five products at risk of modern slavery that are imported by G 20 countries are laptops, computers and mobile phones($US200.1 billion), garments ($US 127.7 billion), fish ($US 12.9billion) cocoa ($US 3.6 billion) and sugar cane ($US 2.1 billion).
G20 countries need to act
Twelve G20 countries are yet to formally enact laws or policies to stop businesses sourcing goods from forced labour, despite the G20 last year committing to improve human rights due diligence in corporate operations and supply chains. Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Italy, UK and US have all introduced or are taking steps to introduce laws that would tackle modern slavery.
“The level of action G20 countries have taken to date to put an end to human trafficking and modern slavery has been limited,” said UK Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, Kevin Hyland.
We need to end a criminal ‘business model’
“These nations have a responsibility to pioneer an end to the demand for imported goods produced by criminals who engage forced or exploited workers and perpetuate the multi-billion-dollar business of modern slavery.
“We must hold our governments to higher levels of scrutiny and insist our business leaders make bold moves. We must question why more is not being done to free the millions of people around the world that are trapped, abused and beaten down while being bought and sold to provide goods for businesses across the world. This can no longer be tolerated as a necessary or inevitable ‘business model’ and the G20 nations are uniquely placed to provide the leadership to eradicate this globalised crime,” Mr Hyland said.
North Korea: 2.6 million in forced labour
North Korea has the highest prevalence of modern slavery in the world, with one in ten people (2.6 million) forced to work, the 2018 GSI found. Countries suffering from conflict and oppressive regimes are at most risk of fostering modern slavery, with Eritrea, Burundi, the Central African Republic and Afghanistan following North Korea as the countries with highest prevalence.
Over seventy percent are women
Seventy-one percent of people trapped in modern slavery today are women, with a large proportion accounting for the 15.4 million people who are living in a forced marriage.
At the heart of this gender divide issue is the cycle of inequality for women across global culture, relating to cultural practices, family structures, lack of autonomy, lack of access to education, and gaps in legal protection
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