The ILO (International Labor Organization) estimates that 50 million people are victims of slave-like working conditions. The data is published today (12) in a survey of the phenomenon affecting all continents. According to the entity, the covid-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented jump in the crisis and the problem has exploded in the last five years.
As of 2016, an additional 10 million people have been placed with the condition, mainly between 2020 and 2021. The health crisis has created unprecedented social turmoil in dozens of societies, increasing dependency on workers and deepening exploitation.
According to the ILO, 28 million people were victims of forced labor in 2021, while another 22 million were forced into marriage. There are 5 million victims in America, 3.3 million of whom are in forced labor and the rest at home.
Children and women are the most vulnerable. According to the organization, however, “modern slavery” occurs in almost every country in the world, including upper-middle-income countries. While the private sector is largely responsible for crimes, 14% of cases are related to government sectors.
According to the ILO, 3.3 million children live in this situation, with one in eight victims of forced labour. Many are sexually abused.
Civil construction and agriculture are also responsible for a significant number of people in a situation similar to slavery.
Migrants from all continents are among the populations most affected by the reality of forced labor. This segment of society is three times more likely to be victimized than the rest of the population.
One of the most worrying facts for the business is that an additional 6.6 million people were victims of forced marriage between 2016 and 2021. For the ILO, this number is underestimated and the scale of the problem may be even greater.
According to the ILO, 65% of forced marriages take place in Asia. In Arab countries, almost five out of every thousand people are victims of this situation.
“It is shocking to see that the situation in modern slavery has not improved,” said Guy Ryder, director general of the ILO. “Nothing justifies that,” he added.
source: Noticias
