An estimated 49. 6 million other people live in modern slavery. Of these, 1 in four are boys and 54 per cent are women and girls. More than 27 million people are subjected to forced labour and a staggering 22 million are in forced marriage.
Walk Free is a foreign human rights organization whose goal is the systemic eradication of fashionable slavery, in all its forms, in our lifetime. He is the author of the world’s first dataset on measuring and understanding fashionable slavery, and lately documents fashion slavery and its key drivers. in more than 170 countries. His paintings draw on the ideas, delight and expertise of survivors and frontline leaders around the world, adding partnerships with netpaintingss survivors globally. chains of origin and key industries, as well as in the monetary sector and migration routes.
I sat down with passionate and committed Grace Forrest, the founder of Walk Free, to find out what led to the creation of the organization, what the fundamental reasons for fashion slavery are, and how companies can eliminate it.
“Walk Free was founded over a decade ago after spending time living and running in Nepal in a nursing home for young people suffering from various exploitative bureaucracy. It was there that I first witnessed the extent of excessive and incessant commodification. of human beings, and I learned temporarily that modern slavery is one of the most successful bureaucracies of organized crime in the world, and continues to sustain our global economy,” Forrest recalls. Walk Free was created at the end of that year to address the fundamental reasons for fashionable slavery and create system-level change.
Walk Free’s Global Slavery Index is the world’s most comprehensive dataset on modern slavery. It uses this knowledge to mobilize hard forces to replace those who oppose such human rights violations.
“A woman from Varanasi, India, tells me about the many times her circle of relatives tried to escape their task in Array. . . [ ] a brick factory, where wages are withheld and staff are threatened with violence. “
It works with governments, businesses, devotees and network leaders to drive systems renewal and partners with frontline organizations to liberate others trapped in slavery around the world.
Walk-Free’s recent estimate published with the International Labour Organization showed a shocking increase in modern slavery for another 50 million people. There has been a 10 million increase in the number of other people living in modern slavery compared to the last estimate in 2016.
Walk Free attributes this staggering buildup to worsening crises, whether it’s the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, or an ongoing armed conflict. Inequalities. Whether it is disruptions in employment and education, an accumulation of excessive poverty and migration of misery, or a resurgence of gender-based violence.
But crises are not the only culprits, it is also the stagnant reaction of world leaders. While there are promising advances in the law, for example, Walk Free has just worked with the New Zealand government to count its new federal law, broader systemic responses. that hold global supply chains accountable are still largely absent around the world.
Global seafood origin chains are complex and opaque, leaving staff incredibly. [ ] vulnerable to exploitation.
“The 2018 Global Slavery Index found G20 countries guilty of loading US$354 billion worth of goods with the biggest threat being manufactured fashion slaves. Five years later, we still haven’t noticed a comprehensive reaction or an action plan led by the G20 countries, Forrest added.
It would possibly be wonderful to know that 50% of this construction comes from upper-middle-income countries. Grace Forrest extra provided more context on why this happens.
“You have to understand two things. First, there is a misconception that fashionable slavery only happens in emerging countries, when in reality, no country is immune to fashionable slavery,” Forrest explained. More than a portion of all forced labour occurs in upper-middle- and high-income countries, as well as 25% of forced marriages. The interconnected nature of our global economy means that the production of a product can span regions.
Second, the G20 countries, which account for more than 80% of global industry, still benefit from the enduring legacy of ancient slavery and the force imbalances embedded in our global economies. To fashionable slavery, not only do they have direct control over much of the global economy, but they also consume the majority of products made through slavery and a highly exploitative workforce,” he added.
We talked about the concepts and contribution of the COVID-19 pandemic and the risk of climate replacing appalling modern slavery.
The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified global inequalities. As UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in 2020, “as we all float on the same sea, it is clear that some are on superyachts while others cling to floating debris. “Those affected were the most vulnerable and structurally disadvantaged, who were suddenly affected by precarious employment, unemployment and disruptions in global migration. This has led to widespread and growing poverty and an accumulation of gender-based violence, as well as forced and child marriages. In times of crisis, the rights of women and girls are the first thing taken off the table,” Forrest said.
“A boy from Varanasi, India, returns to his career even after liberation from fashionable slavery. He. . . [ ] He tells me that he can now paint without worrying about punishment and be proud of his paintings that send his young people to school. “
Similarly, the climate crisis continues to have the harshest effects on other people with the least welfare and infrastructure to protect themselves. She further explained: “It’s important to note that it’s the nations that have contributed the least to global emissions that suffer. “Similarly, it is the industries that create the worst environmental effects that are also the industries that thrive on exploitation: forced labor and child labor in a hurry, from cotton picking to manufacturing, to dangerous operating situations in brick production chains in Pakistan, to forced labor related to illegal deforestation or debt bondage in Thailand’s fishing industry.
Since certain industries that rely on raw fabrics like sugar and cotton are also more likely to have cases of forced labor, I asked what business leaders dealing with those industries can do to eliminate this problem.
Sugar production is one of the most harmful industries, with personnel, including children, occasionally exposed to very poor health and protective conditions. The agricultural sector relies heavily on transitory staff, adding irregular and undocumented immigrants. These staff occasionally work without a written employment. contract and do not receive local legislation and their rights. Global estimates have shown that migrant staff are 3 times more likely to be victims of exploitation than non-migrant staff.
Similarly, cotton has been a product of slavery for generations. “One in five cotton garments in the global garment industry is contaminated by forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region, where Uighurs are exploited as part of state-imposed forced labor. The difficulty of exercising due diligence on the chains of origin that make this region larger is impossible,” Forrest said.
Understand the intergenerational effects of shock and migration on misery on vulnerability to Array. Modern slavery is incredibly important, and this factor is nuanced in the West Bank.
Companies have the opportunity and pressing responsibility to go beyond compliance and create new industry standards. Walk Free the Modern Slavery Response
Forrest said, “We touch and use products that modern slavery employs every day, whether it’s coffee, phones or the clothes we wear. We bring this exploitation. I asked him what recommendation he had for business leaders to help them take on the duty to help. “to solve this shameful problem. ” Frankly, if you’re not part of a proactive solution: you’re part of the problem. assume you’re doing the wrong thing,” he concluded.