In this modern era, according to the latest report by the UN agency titled-‘Global Estimates of Modern Slavery’, over fifty million people were living in modern slavery in 2021 and among them, 28 million of these people were in forced labour and 22 million trapped in forced marriage. Women and children remain disproportionately vulnerable.
Modern slavery occurs in almost every country in the world, which has crossed ethnic, cultural and religious lines. More than half (52 per cent) of all forced labour and a quarter of all forced marriages
found in upper-middle-income or high-income countries.
According to the reports at the time of COVID-19, climate change and armed conflict caused unparalleled disruption to employment and education, but an extreme increase in poverty, unsafe migration and gender-based violence is leading to a heightened risk of modern slavery.
In most cases of forced labour, 86 per cent of forced labour cases are found in the private sector, with forced commercial sexual exploitation representing 23 per cent – almost Four out of Five victims of whom are girls or women.
State-imposed forced labour accounts for 14 per cent, of which 3.3 million are children. Yet more than half of them are in commercial sexual exploitation.
On the other side, when it comes to forced marriage, approximately 22 million people were living in forced marriage, which represents a 6.6 million increase over 2016 global estimates.
Based on regional population size, 65 per cent of forced marriages are found in Asia and the Pacific. The Arab States have the highest prevalence, with 4.8 out of every 1,000 people in the region in forced marriage.
Also Read: With Uyghurs Of China In Mind, EU To Pass Law Banning Products Made Using Forced Labour
