The Global Slavery Index (2016) estimates that 45.8 million men, women and children are enslaved around the world, including in Australia where there are 4,300 people living in modern slavery.
In Australia, slaveholders are using people against their will for their own profit or advantage. Sometimes people are hidden behind closed doors; sometimes they are hidden in plain sight. In Australia, slavery is a crime criminalised under the Commonwealth Criminal Code, however remains grossly underreported.
Modern slavery is characterised by:
- Power over another
- Loss of freedom
Slavery can take the form of:
- Deceptive Recruiting
- Debt Bondage
- Forced Marriage
- Forced Labour
Victims of slavery may be the person who picks the apples on your table, attaches the rain gutters to your house, cares for your neighbours children, cleans your car, makes the clothes you wear or serves your food.
Click HERE for examples of cases of slavery in Australia