International Slave Trade

Slavery seems to be an archaic institution that has been mostly eradicated. Yet, slavery still very much exists and at a global scale. Slavery has changed its form and is practiced at an insidious level. In fact, the international slave trade or human trafficking is the second largest form of organized crime in the world generating an estimated $9.5 billion in annual revenue. The international slave trade occurs across national borders, affects every continent and most countries, and is a rapidly expanding problem.

There are many types of slavery in existence today. Bonded labor or debt bondage is the most widely practiced method of slavery. A person becomes a bonded laborer when his or her labor is demanded as a means of repayment for a loan. The bonded laborer is often required to work long hours, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. They are subject to physical and sexual violence and only receive basic food and shelter as payment. Many bonded laborers never manage to pay off their loans and loans are often passed down for generations. The United Nations Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery estimates that 20 million people are held in bonded labor.

International slave trade or human trafficking is the illegal recruitment, transport and trade of people into all forms of forced labor and servitude. Coercive tactics in the international slave trade include deception, fraud, intimidation, isolation, and threat and use of physical force. The international slave trade is largely an underground operation and as a result it is often difficult to estimate exactly how many people are trafficked. However, it is known that the majority of human beings being trafficked into the international slave trade are women and children.

The international slave trade exists and is expanding for many reasons. One factor is easy profits made from the exploitation, growing deprivation, and marginalization of poverty. Many of the victims of human trafficking are often without land or education. They sell their labor in exchange for a loan, are deceived into physical or sexual bondage, or are kidnapped. A second factor is lack of enforcement on the part of governments. Despite the fact that the international slave trade is illegal, many governments are rarely willing to enforce the law or ensure that those who profit from trafficking are punished. There is also widespread corruption and complicity of state officials in some of the countries where the international slave trade occurs. Other factors include discrimination and inequality of women, restrictive migration laws, and lack of information about the realities and dangers of the international slave trade.

Many governments and non-governmental organizations are taking steps to combat the international slave trade. More information about the international slave trade is being circulated and communicated between nations. More sufficient penalties are also being enforced against traffickers as well as more means of support for the victims of trafficking. However, until the issues causing poverty and inequality of women are addressed international slavery will continue to exist.