Davos 2018: how big a problem is modern-day slavery?
Estimated 13,000 victims in the UK alone
Thirteen people have been arrested in Birmingham on suspicion of slavery, a global problem that has drawn the attention of world leaders in Davos this week.
Prime Minister Theresa May has called slavery “the great human rights issue of our time” and has pledged to help eradicate the “barbaric evil” of human trafficking. However, a highly critical report by the Commons Work and Pensions Committee last year said there was an “inexcusable” lack of support for the estimated 10,000 to 13,000 slaves in the UK.
More than 40 million people across the globe are living as modern slaves, according to figures compile by the United Nation’s International Labour Organisation and the Walk Free Foundation, a human rights group.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“The more that we look for modern slavery, the more we find evidence of the widespread abuse of the vulnerable,” Will Kerr, of the UK National Crime Agency, said last year.
“We know that once they have been formally identified as victims of slavery, most victims are not given a secure immigration status or right to remain, and so find themselves almost instantly destitute and without anywhere to live,” adds Kate Roberts, from the Human Trafficking Foundation.
The Guardian revealed last weekend that at least seven police forces in England have not charged anyone under modern slavery legislation introduced more than two years ago. Meanwhile, the number of cases of slavery being reported in the UK has more than doubled.
The issue of how to tackle slavery was on the agenda at this week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The Global Fund to End Modern Slavery, a US-based partnership that unites governments, businesses and charities, “hopes to replicate the success of a similar initiative that boosted financing to tackle Aids, malaria and tuberculosis”, says Reuters.
Gary Haugen, CEO of the International Justice Mission, told the forum that “there are more people in slavery today than were extracted from Africa over 400 years of the transatlantic slave trade”.
The fund to end slavery “is seeking $250m (£176m) from the US, $500m (£352m) from other nations, and $750m (£528m) in private funding, to coordinate global anti-slavery efforts, Reuters reports.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'Good riddance to the televised presidential debate'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Caitlin Clark the No. 1 pick in bullish WNBA Draft
Speed Read As expected, she went to the Indiana Fever
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 16, 2024
Cartoons Tuesday's cartoons - sleepyhead, little people, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Tourist sparks bomb alert after accidentally ordering a 'grenade'
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Gaza hospital blast: What the video evidence shows about who's to blame
Speed Read Nobody wants to take responsibility for the deadly explosion in the courtyard of Gaza's al-Ahli Hospital. Roll the tape.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Giraffe poo seized after woman wanted to use it to make a necklace
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Helicopter sound arouses crocodiles
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Woman sues Disney over 'injurious wedgie'
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Emotional support alligator turned away from baseball stadium
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Europe's oldest shoes found in Spanish caves
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published