An independent review of Australia’s Modern Slavery Act has concluded that the legislation is failing to have a significant impact on curbing modern slavery and urges the Australian government to implement recommendations to strengthen the law. The Australian government must act According to the latest Global Slavery Index released by international human rights organization Walk Free, an estimated 50 million people were in situations of modern slavery in 2021, a number that has increased by 10 million since the last estimates were published in 2016. In this context of widespread systemic globa ..read more

Following an in-depth audit of the U.K.’s asylum system, the UN refugee agency has expressed its concern over flaws in the system that lead to vulnerable people including trafficking victims being overlooked. A flawed asylum system Home Office staff tasked with processing asylum claims were discovered to be overworked with insufficient training leading to poor decision-making with disastrous consequences for people seeking asylum. David Hughes in the Evening Standard reports: The report said that the UNHCR “observed or was told about numerous risks to the welfare of asylum-seekers, including ..read more

India holds the distinction of being one of the world’s largest sugar producers and ranks second in global sugar exports, earning $4 billion every year from sugar alone. But a bitter truth lurks at the bottom of the supply chain. Oxfam reports that almost 200,000 children under 14 work in the hazardous Indian sugar cane industry. Children as young as six are harvesting sugar cane in Maharashtra and, by age 11, are working full time. Given that millions of sugarcane workers are tricked into debt and forced to work, trafficking risks are high for adults much less children. Millions of unprotecte ..read more

The latest Global Slavery Index released by the NGO Walk Free has placed the United States among the group of countries with the greatest number of people living in modern slavery. The U.S. is also only one of 17 countries with state-imposed forced labor – one of the “most egregious” forms of modern slavery, according to Walk Free. “Most egregious” The report notes that, “It is among the most egregious forms of modern slavery as it involves states not only failing in their duty to safeguard human rights, but actively using their power to perpetrate abuse.” The Hill reports, The U.S. is 1 of o ..read more

The launch of the latest Global Slavery Index this week by anti-modern slavery and international human rights group Walk Free paints a stark picture. An estimated 50 million people around the world are living in conditions of modern slavery and while the U.K. topped the report’s list of countries who have taken the most action against modern slavery, it remains complicit in perpetuating these injustices both at home and through global supply chains. Importing tainted goods Nasreen, a survivor of forced child labor and co-director of anti-modern slavery U.S. organization Empowerment Collect ..read more

“They are so powerful. They are untouchable. My faith in God and the truth are my only weapons against their immunity,” – Virgina, domestic worker Four domestic workers from the Philippines are bravely suing their diplomat employers in Switzerland for non-payment of wages and exploitation amounting to modern slavery. Up against diplomatic immunity These four women were employed by diplomats in the Pakistan Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. As diplomats, they enjoyed diplomatic immunity meaning they are protected from criminal and civil lawsuits. In previous cases of domesti ..read more

In Louisiana, United States, 39-year-old Darnell Fulton was accused of sex trafficking and forced labor of three of his stepchildren. Fulton reportedly used violence, including waterboarding and sexual abuse, intimidation and withholding of food to force his stepchildren to work for him. For three years, his stepchildren, all under the age of 16 were made to make and sell brownies seven days a week, often having to work late into the night. If Fulton wasn’t happy with their “work performance”, he would whip or waterboard them. One survivor recalled watching the skin peel off her 12-year-old br ..read more

New data reveals the number of potential modern slavery victims in the U.K. reached a record high last year with an alarming spike in reports of labor exploitation in health and social care providers like care homes. Low pay, long hours, illegal fees Unseen, a U.K. anti-slavery charity that runs the modern slavery helpline, revealed that calls to the helpline more than doubled in 2022 compared to the previous year. Reports of exploitation in the care sector in particular spiked with the number of potential modern slavery victims jumping almost sevenfold from 2021 to 2022. The Guardian reports ..read more

In the U.S., it is legal for children as young as 12 to work unlimited hours outside of school with parental approval if they’re working in agriculture. There are currently around 500,000 children who work in agriculture, planting, picking, and packaging crops. Even children protected by the American Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) are at risk of being exploited by employers breaking the law. Reportedly the number of children employed in violation of U.S. child labor laws increased by 37% in 2022. Child labor exploitation leads to school drop outs Worse yet, worker shortages and supply chain c ..read more

As the harmful Refugee Ban Bill progressed to the debate stage in the U.K.’s House of Lords this week, the archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby called out the legislation for being “morally unacceptable”. Welby joins a growing number of groups and individuals taking a stand against the bill that, amongst other alarming measures, proposes to rip up modern slavery protections for people who reach the U.K. through irregular routes. Speaking in the House of Lords on Wednesday Welby said: “[The bill] is isolationist, it is morally unacceptable and politically impractical to let the poorest countr ..read more