12 april 2022
Red & Black
diversity
Diversity 7
Trafficking & Involuntary Servitude Are Modern Slaveries EMREE DOWNEY RED&BLACK STAFF WRITER
As many of us know, slavery in the United States is a thing of the past…or is it? Traditional slavery may have been obliterated in 1863 with the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, but is modernday slavery occurring right under our noses? Perhaps so. Though men, women, and children may not be being outright bought and sold for their labor, they are still being forced to work against their will for little-to-no money in order to feed themselves and/or their families. Forced labor, or labor trafficking, encompasses a range of activities, from recruiting and obtaining, to transporting and providing. This occurs when a person uses coercion, threats, or abuse to compel someone to do work for them. Once a person’s labor is exploited, the person’s prior consent to work for that employer becomes legally
irrelevant. Migrants and those alike trying to find immediate work after leaving their native country are especially vulnerable to this form of
Vulnerability may also be exacerbated when the employer enjoys civil immunity. Domestic workers, especially women, withstand additional hardships,
Though men, women, and children “ may not be being outright bought and sold for their labor, they are still being forced to work against their will for little to no money... human trafficking, though this can also occur in one’s native country. Involuntary domestic servitude is another form of modern-day slavery. This is also a form of human trafficking; however, it occurs under distinct circumstances. A domestic worker is not free to leave their employer, is often abused and underpaid (if paid at all), and rarely receives basic benefits and protections. This often occurs in private residences and increases their isolation and vulnerability.
including harassment, exploitation, and gender-based violence. Lastly, bonded labor, or debt bondage, is also a form of modern-day slavery. Victims of this form of trafficking may be working to pay off their ancestors’ debts, not even their own. Others fall victim to traffickers or recruiters who unlawfully exploit an initial debt assumed,
as a term of employment. Traffickers, agencies, and/or recruiters can make it hard, if not nearly impossible for the victims to pay off their debts by charging interests and other fees to keep them working. So, although we may not be seeing innocent people being bought and sold at auctions and separated from their families, there are many modern ways in which people are being forced to work, under many circumstances, against their will.
Graphic courtesy Gstudioimagn via Vecteezy.com
