World – More than 40 million are victims of modern slavery

By memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Danny Romero)

Figures from the International Labour Organisation and the Walk Free Foundation showed that in 2016, there was an estimated 40.3 million people around the world in modern slavery with 24.9 million of them in forced labour.

The ILO’s 2017 Estimates of Modern Slavery report calculates that of 24.9 million victims of forced labour, 16 million are thought to be in the private economy, 4.8 million in forced sexual exploitation and 4.1 million in state-sponsored forced labour including mandatory military conscription and agricultural work.

Child labour remains concentrated primarily in agriculture (70.9%). Almost one in five child labourers work in the services sector (17.1%) while 11.9 % of child labourers work in the industrial sector.

The ILO states that forced labour can be understood as work that is performed involuntarily and under the menace of any penalty. They add that the global estimates of modern slavery focus on two main issues: forced labour and forced marriage. The estimate of forced labour comprises forced labour in the private economy.

“What is startling about these new estimates is the sheer scale of the modern slave trade and the fact that we have 40 million people across the world in some form of modern slavery is simply not acceptable,” said Fiona David, executive director of global research at the Walk Free Foundation.

Source:: World – More than 40 million are victims of modern slavery