Modern Day Slavery

Modern Day Slavery

            Slavery can be defined as the state of exploiting an individual’s labor without their willingness. To as late as 2007, slavery was still allowed in some countries. The practice of slavery could be seen as a way of a particular group of people exercising dominion over another. For example, captives of war used to work as slaves and would be traded by their masters for money and property. The slavery trade was regulated by a series of laws which were majorly aimed at creating understanding between the slave traders and not necessarily on protecting the rights of the slaves. Despite the outlawing of slavery, the practice has continued to exist in modern-day forms, and little has been done to prevent it. Modern slavery is also referred to as contemporary slavery or neo-colonialism and the estimates of the current number of slaves vary depending on the definition of slavery. The acts of modern slavery include human trafficking where victims are exposed to work for little or no pay and massive disrespect of human rights.

Child Labor

A child can be defined as an individual who has not attained the age specified by a particular society to be the age of maturity. The definition of children is associated with the inability to make refined decisions. According to Ryder (p. 53), modern-day slavery is real and more than 40 million people are trapped in it approximately 150 years since the campaign to abolish it started. Child labor is as a result of modern slavery and children have found them becoming victims of improper handling by adults who are blinded by desire for cheap labor or making money. The causes of child labor vary from forced submission to deliberate trade. In countries hit by terrorism, children have found themselves at the verge of providing cheap or free military services. Terrorist groups have been said to force little children into becoming soldiers to carry terrorist attacks that range from suicide bombing to direct combats.

Also, children have found themselves as victims of unhealthy business where parents have been said to use their children to service debts or in exchange for money.  In the events that parents are involved in exposing their children to slavery, children are deceived concerning their rights, or are promised false favors in a bid to minimize resistance. The increase in child labor can be attributed to the state of insecurity due to terrorism as well as high poverty levels affecting third world countries.

Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is a form of modern slavery where some people are involved in providing other people as providers of cheap labor. The campaign to curb human trafficking has taken divided attention from different states since nations are only making discriminative laws that are not based on adequate evidence (Weitzer, p.234). Human trafficking takes various forms that include selling sex-workers and house servants. The victims of human trafficking are mostly poor people who seek to find employment in developed countries. However, the dream to secure employment lands several unsuspecting victims in the hands of cruel employers who take the victims’ desperation to their advantage and exploit them for cheap labor. The victims of human trafficking usually work for little or no pay, and in most cases, the working conditions are devoid of regulation, and thus the workers are exposed to unlawful acts of the employers. The definition of human trafficking varies between states with some classifying human smuggling as a form of human trafficking. Although human trafficking involves the consent of the victims, the involvement of deception qualifies it to be modern slavery since laborers are not given the opportunity to choose their working conditions as well as their pay.

Debt Servicing

Debt servicing is another form of modern slavery where individuals are compelled to do extra work to settle debts taken at earlier dates. Slavery in debt servicing comes in because individuals have no control over their wages since the employers value their labor depending on the amount of debt. In most occasions, labor is measured in terms of time and not the amount of work done, a situation that exposes laborers to exploitation by the employers who try to recover more than they owe the employees. In some occasions, employees have been forced into sex trafficking as a means to service debts. The poverty levels can be attributed to the lack of options which forces individuals into making deals that only put them at the verge of slavery. During debt servicing, individuals may be forced to do additional heavy work to get some payment in the events that the individuals are breadwinners for their families. According to Stanziani (p. 34) accepting debt slavery in the society is equivalent to allowing total slavery. Given the opportunity to give credit in exchange for servitude, employers may take advantage of unsuspecting individuals and lure them into slavery.

In sum, the issue of modern slavery is more significant than several bodies portray it. States are reluctant in making laws to curb the practice, and this can be attributed to the lack of evidence concerning the practice. Child labor, human trafficking, and debt servicing are the current forms of slavery. It is essential for the world to uphold respect for humanity by condemning the acts of slavery. The definition of modern slavery should be made clear to avoid cases of unsuspecting individuals finding themselves under the service of slavery.