WORLD

More than 45 million people are living in modern slavery, with Asia accounting for two-thirds of the victims, a new report says. (Quartz)

Use our timeline to learn more about the ugly history of legal slavery in the United States.

Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers Toolkit, including today’s MapMaker Interactive map.

Discussion Ideas

• According to the Global Slavery Index, there are nearly 46 million people living as slaves in the world today. What is slavery?
  • The traditional definition of slavery is the process and condition of owning another human being or being owned by another human being.
  • The Global Slavery Index defines modern slavery as a situation where “a person cannot refuse or leave because of threats, violence, coercion, abuse of power or deception, with treatment akin to a farm animal.” This includes human trafficking, forced labour, debt bondage, forced or servile marriage, and the sale and exploitation of children.

• What conditions influence the prevalence of slavery in a country or region?
  • The Global Slavery Index looks at four key factors:
    • civil and political protection. This factor might include political rights, such as freedom of speech and movement.
    • social, health, and economic rights. This includes social justice such as access to health care and job security.
    • personal security. This includes the right to privacy.
    • refugees and conflict. Conflict is a broad term that may include political stability, as well as the ability to respond to natural hazards that may create social upheaval.

• What are some examples of modern slavery?
  • The Global Slavery Index lists many, “including the Thai fishing, Uzbek and Turkmenistan cotton, and the Qatari construction industries. It was identified in the domestic households of diplomats, in Islamic State (IS)-controlled areas, and in areas that have experienced natural disasters, such as Nepal, and environmental destruction, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”
  • “In India, the survey underlined that domestic workers are a particularly vulnerable group, as ‘work takes place in private homes and largely out of the reach of regulation.’”
  • The BBC lists five examples of modern slavery:
    • seafood industry. Thousands of people are forced to work on unsanitary, unsafe fishing boats.
    • cannabis factories and nail salons. Many women and children are told their families will be hurt if they leave.
    • sexual slavery, which is often euphemistically referred to as “human trafficking.” Many women and children are promised jobs in the hospitality industry, and forced into prostitution.
    • forced begging. This form of slavery often targets children.
    • domestic slavery. The BBC cites two examples of domestic slavery: A man forced to work for a family for more than 20 years, doing building work and … [forced] to live in a 1.2m (4ft) wide garden shed with no heating or running water for two years. In another case, a wife was tortured, forced to do all the chores, and not allowed to leave home.

• Take a look at today’s MapMaker Interactive map. The map asks one question: Where are the world’s modern slaves? But the two bookmarks provide two different answers. Why?
  • The first bookmark considers the total number of slaves. Big countries with big populations dominate the list here.
    • 1   India
    • 2   China
    • 4   Pakistan
    • 4   Bangladesh
    • 5   Uzbekistan
    • 6   North Korea
    • 7   Russia
    • 8   Nigeria
    • 9   Democratic Republic of the Congo
    • 10 Indonesia
  • The second bookmark considers the percentage of slaves in a country. The percentage is evaluated by the number of slaves in a country compared with the country’s total population.
    • 1   North Korea
    • 2   Uzbekistan
    • 3   Cambodia
    • 4   India
    • 5   Qatar
    • 6   Pakistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, South Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Central African Republic
    • 7   Mauritania
    • 8   Haiti, Dominican Republic
    • 9   Myanmar
    • 10 Bangladesh

TEACHERS TOOLKIT

Quartz: India has 18 million modern slaves—at least five times more than any other country in the world

BBC: What does modern slavery look like?

Nat Geo: Where are the world’s modern slaves? map

Global Slavery Index 2016

Nat Geo: A History of Slavery in the United States