Slavery Index: 30 Million People Are Considered ‘Property’

The Global Slavery Index was published on Thursday and it reveals that 30 million people around the world are victims of modern-day slavery.

The slavery index is the work of the Walk Free Foundation and showcases the slavery problems that are most emphasized in India and the west African nation of Muaritania. The latter has a slave population of 4 percent.

The WFF calls modern-day slavery a “hidden crime” and they hope that by highlighting the problem local governments will be forced to take action.

WFF chief executive Nick Grono told AFP, “A lot of governments won’t like hearing what we have to say… Those governments that want to engage with us, we will be very open to engaging and looking at ways in which we can better measure the issue of modern slavery.”

The foundations definition of modern-day slavery includes slavery itself, plus slavery-like practices — such as debt bondage, forced marriage and the sale or exploitation of children — human trafficking and forced labor.

The Atlantic slave trade ended in the 1800s and after that time the focus on slavery shifted to other problems.

The group’s slavery index shows that in today’s modern age many people are tricked into slavery, often because of economic exploitation.

Among the worst areas for slavery are Mauritania, Haiti, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Moldova, Benin, Ivory Coast, Gambia and Gabon.

In Mauritania the group describes its people as engaged in “deeply entrenched hereditary slavery”, while “people in slavery may be bought and sold, rented out and given away as gifts”. In that country children are often born into slavery where they remain for the rest of their life.

In the developed nations Russia finished 49th, China 84th, United States 134th, France 139th and Britain at 160th.

India has the most people estimated to be in slavery (13.95 million), followed by China (2.95 million) and Pakistan (2.1 million).

72 percent of all people forced into modern slavery are located in Asia.

Are you shocked by the findings of the slavery index?