50 Million People Live Under Modern Day Slavery

Source: The Guardian

Fifty million people around the world are trapped in modern slavery, either forced to work against their will or forced into a marriage, according to new global estimates, marking a significant rise over the past five years.

The number of people trapped in forced labour, including sex trafficking, rose to 28 million, with a further 22 million trapped in forced marriage, says a report published on Monday by the International Labour Organization, International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the anti-trafficking human rights group Walk Free.

The new estimates found that 10 million more people had fallen victim to forms of modern slavery in 2021 compared with 2016, with women and children the most badly affected.

A brick kiln near Dhaka. Debt bondage persists in South Asia, with children often working alongside indentured parents. Photograph: Joy Saha/Zuma/Rex

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