Day 8 - 16 days of Activism against Gender Violence

Day 8

International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

For many people in the West, the term slavery brings to mind the trans-Atlantic slave trade and the enslavement of Africans in the United States. This is the most common representation of slavery seen in the mainstream media and it portrays an important period in human history which many people consider to have ended with the abolition of the slavery in the United States in 1865 [1]. What many people do not realize is that slavery has continued to exist in many parts of the world, including countries such as Canada, the United States, Britain, and many European nations. Although slavery is illegal, it is still practised through forced labour, worst forms of child labour, and human trafficking, including sex trafficking. Recently, police in Calgary, Alberta arrested and laid charges in two separate human trafficking cases.

Modern Slavery

"Forced labour takes different forms, including debt bondage, trafficking and other forms of modern slavery. The victims are the most vulnerable – women and girls forced into prostitution, migrants trapped in debt bondage, and sweatshop or farm workers kept there by clearly illegal tactics and paid little or nothing." [2]

- International Labour Organization

The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that at least 12.3 million people are victims of forced labour [3]. Other organizations, such as Free the Slaves and the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking, place the total number of enslaved persons in the world today at around 27 million [4]. Women and children are especially vulnerable to modern forms of slavery, in particular human trafficking and sexual slavery, largely as a result of poverty. In particular, gender inequalities and discrimination increase the vulnerability of women and girls to trafficking because of attitudes that view them as the 'property' of men and also as a result of their lack of access to education and employment opportunities.

Many organizations around the world are working with, or without (in some cases), governments to end slavery and rescue victims of human trafficking. Individuals also have a role to play by informing authorities about suspected cases of trafficking. For more information on human trafficking in Canada, visit the RCMP's Frequently Asked Questions on Human Trafficking or the Department of Justice page on human trafficking. Another factor to consider is informing organizations that advocate for the rights of illegal immigrants and refugees, such as No One is Illegal, to ensure that rights of victims of human trafficking are respected and that they do not face deportation.

We ALL have a role to play in ending modern forms of slavery. Watch, look, listen, educate (yourself and others) and support Fair Trade.



The Call + Response trailer may be a good place for people unfamiliar with modern slavery to start.

Sources

[1] Our Documents. 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery (1865).

[2], [3] International Labour Organization (ILO). Forced Labour.

[4] Free the Slaves. Top 10 Facts About Modern Slavery; Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking.

Additional Information & Organizations

Call + Response, a documentary exposing the modern slave trade featuring prominent political and cultural figures.

BBC. Modern Slavery: Articles about victims of modern slavery, including victims of human trafficking.

The Abolish Slavery Coalition "brings together the top professionals in the movement to combat slavery and human trafficking to better advocate for the rights of victims."

International

UNIFEM. Trafficking in Women and Girls

UNICEF. Child Protection Information Sheet, Child Labour

United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP). no-trafficking.org

UN.GIFT - Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking

UNFPA. Trafficking in Human Misery.

UNODOC. UNODOC on human trafficking and migrant smuggling

ILO. Forced Labour; Child Labour

In the United States

Free the Slaves

Polaris Project

In Canada

Women Against Slavery

No One is Illegal