Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking
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Modern slavery and human Trafficking is a systemic global injustices, fuelled by poverty, globalisation and fast growing demand for cheaper products and services.
This is a growing billion dollar industry that is coming under greater scrutiny with government research and expanding legislative measures. |
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40.5 million are victims of modern slavery worldwide, whilst an estimated 136,000 victims reside in the UK
Quick Glance at Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking
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Slavery, unfortunately is not the remanence of history, rather, in our modern world, an estimated 40 million victims actively live as slaves.
Humans are trafficked for domestic servitude, agricultural work, mining, begging, manufacturing, industrial work, construction, and organ harvesting. Very often, we fail to consider the multifaceted aspect of trafficking in great detail, making any attempt at examining this industry in isolation, challenging. We must draw parallels in how different socio-economic and political factors create demand for human trafficking and slavery as a means to maximising industrial capitalist gains. |
In many cases, the slave recruitment and trafficking are undertaken by former retired slaves, and certain trafficking cases may not incur an acquisition at all, rather, personal choice is eroded from the formula altogether, due to extreme poverty, and systemic discrimination and corruption, and immigration disparities.
The anatomy model for human trafficking and modern slavery is nuanced and complex. Whilst there is a focus on the supply and demand component that power the industry’s engine, consisting of; acquisition, movement and exploitation. This pattern remains a looping cycle between trafficking and the slave trade.
There is, however, another element to this anatomy, and that is; Money Laundering and other Financial Crimes.
These crimes are often weaved in to each other, and a greater focus and scrutiny on Financial Services organisations is on the rise.
It is the moral responsibility of every corporate actor, to review its sourcing, revenue, funding, investing, offshoring and outsourcing strategies, whether directly, or in-directly through its supply and revenue chains of network.
In the face of globalisation, businesses have a moral and legal responsibility to examine how the trade-off in search of lower costs, for higher profitability, correlates to human trafficking and modern slavery.
Research conducted by CIPS, reveals that more than 70% of businesses lack transparency in their supply chain practices. In light of the growing trend for off-shored outsourcing strategy, this lack of transparency proposes tremendous risk in human exploitation and slavery for capitalistic gains.
Whilst much discourse focuses upon the supply element of human trafficking (conditions that create slaves and its profitability margin), we must equally assess the demand facet. The supply element cannot be examined in isolation, as without the end demand, trafficking and slavery cannot exist.
We must be willing to profile, assess and remedy the business strategy and processes that directly, or indirectly contribute to the trafficking and modern slavery industry.
Whilst revenue generation may make up part of the demand profile, the economic, psychological and moral factors relating to the (direct or in-direct) perpetrators, including the depth of organised crime, and state corruption, remains completely unaddressed globally. We must be willing to underpin how high ranking political and institutional actors are also perpetuating links to organised crime and trafficking rings.
The anatomy model for human trafficking and modern slavery is nuanced and complex. Whilst there is a focus on the supply and demand component that power the industry’s engine, consisting of; acquisition, movement and exploitation. This pattern remains a looping cycle between trafficking and the slave trade.
There is, however, another element to this anatomy, and that is; Money Laundering and other Financial Crimes.
These crimes are often weaved in to each other, and a greater focus and scrutiny on Financial Services organisations is on the rise.
It is the moral responsibility of every corporate actor, to review its sourcing, revenue, funding, investing, offshoring and outsourcing strategies, whether directly, or in-directly through its supply and revenue chains of network.
In the face of globalisation, businesses have a moral and legal responsibility to examine how the trade-off in search of lower costs, for higher profitability, correlates to human trafficking and modern slavery.
Research conducted by CIPS, reveals that more than 70% of businesses lack transparency in their supply chain practices. In light of the growing trend for off-shored outsourcing strategy, this lack of transparency proposes tremendous risk in human exploitation and slavery for capitalistic gains.
Whilst much discourse focuses upon the supply element of human trafficking (conditions that create slaves and its profitability margin), we must equally assess the demand facet. The supply element cannot be examined in isolation, as without the end demand, trafficking and slavery cannot exist.
We must be willing to profile, assess and remedy the business strategy and processes that directly, or indirectly contribute to the trafficking and modern slavery industry.
Whilst revenue generation may make up part of the demand profile, the economic, psychological and moral factors relating to the (direct or in-direct) perpetrators, including the depth of organised crime, and state corruption, remains completely unaddressed globally. We must be willing to underpin how high ranking political and institutional actors are also perpetuating links to organised crime and trafficking rings.
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The global focus may remain on government legislation, fines, imprisonment for the perpetrators, and NGO raids to combat trafficking and slavery, but there is also a substantial need for more education, awareness and accountability beamed at corporations who fund, invest and directly or indirectly utilise slave labour.
Equally, we can no longer ignore that corruption and bribery in police, border control, judicial and government that enables trafficking and modern slavery. It is clear from research that poor income levels for government officials (in certain countries) lead to corruption as a means of income subsidisation. |
For example, regions such as Moldova, are rife with extreme poverty, and state corruption. Due to these conditions, Moldova serves as the central hub for human trafficking within western Europe.
We simply cannot ignore how state corruption contributes to this thriving $150 billion dollar slavery and human trafficking industry.
In most countries, human trafficking and modern slavery carries lesser penalties compared with drug trafficking or money laundering. Yet human trafficking/Slavery yields greater profitability for the slave owners and corporate entities who benefit from it. As claimed by one slaver owner; “a kilo of cocaine will make me money one time, the slave under debt bondage will make me money over and over, for at least 7 years”.
Many discourses seek to offer remedies for abolishing this thriving slave trade. Some take a purely economic stance, and conclude that demand for trafficking will naturally decline if the operational costs and fines are increased. Whilst penalisation for such heinous crimes are necessary, we cannot ignore the profile, desire, and motivation of the perpetrators involved in the human trafficking trade, and the systemic state corruption that sustains it.
We also cannot ignore the responsibility of corporations who knowingly or unknowingly enable slavery within their production lines.
Whilst the economic lens may be theoretically rationalised, when assessed against wider contributing factors, this approach is unlikely to reduce trafficking, as aggregated costs, the length of slavery, and debt bondage can be easily adjusted to retain profitability.
To apply a western, top-down, combative strategy, to remedy a complex global issue, nuanced with; corrupt patriarchy, state corruption, war, gender and cultural biases, imperialism, colonialism, global outsourcing, extreme poverty, war displacements, immigration disparities, race and cast discriminations, and socio-economic instabilities - is all but a naive understanding of what sustains modern slavery, and trafficking, and how the world may tackle this sinister plague from its consciousness.
What we must ALL do, is examine how individually, and collectively, through our desire and demand for cheaper products and services, (or greater profitability), each and everyone of us may be contributing to a thriving global slave trade.
Under the guise of globalisation, we cannot simply turn our backs on what our purchasing habits, may be inflicting upon a another vulnerable and disempowered human.
We must cultivate the awareness that slavery remains an active, and thriving disease within our collective consciousness, and take personal responsibility and ownership to dismantle the very foundational grounds that enables its existence.
We simply cannot ignore how state corruption contributes to this thriving $150 billion dollar slavery and human trafficking industry.
In most countries, human trafficking and modern slavery carries lesser penalties compared with drug trafficking or money laundering. Yet human trafficking/Slavery yields greater profitability for the slave owners and corporate entities who benefit from it. As claimed by one slaver owner; “a kilo of cocaine will make me money one time, the slave under debt bondage will make me money over and over, for at least 7 years”.
Many discourses seek to offer remedies for abolishing this thriving slave trade. Some take a purely economic stance, and conclude that demand for trafficking will naturally decline if the operational costs and fines are increased. Whilst penalisation for such heinous crimes are necessary, we cannot ignore the profile, desire, and motivation of the perpetrators involved in the human trafficking trade, and the systemic state corruption that sustains it.
We also cannot ignore the responsibility of corporations who knowingly or unknowingly enable slavery within their production lines.
Whilst the economic lens may be theoretically rationalised, when assessed against wider contributing factors, this approach is unlikely to reduce trafficking, as aggregated costs, the length of slavery, and debt bondage can be easily adjusted to retain profitability.
To apply a western, top-down, combative strategy, to remedy a complex global issue, nuanced with; corrupt patriarchy, state corruption, war, gender and cultural biases, imperialism, colonialism, global outsourcing, extreme poverty, war displacements, immigration disparities, race and cast discriminations, and socio-economic instabilities - is all but a naive understanding of what sustains modern slavery, and trafficking, and how the world may tackle this sinister plague from its consciousness.
What we must ALL do, is examine how individually, and collectively, through our desire and demand for cheaper products and services, (or greater profitability), each and everyone of us may be contributing to a thriving global slave trade.
Under the guise of globalisation, we cannot simply turn our backs on what our purchasing habits, may be inflicting upon a another vulnerable and disempowered human.
We must cultivate the awareness that slavery remains an active, and thriving disease within our collective consciousness, and take personal responsibility and ownership to dismantle the very foundational grounds that enables its existence.
Where Forced Labour in the UK takes place in:
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Imported items at risk of production through Slave labour includes:
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Article
Examining UK's Modern Slavery Act
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