Global Slavery Index 2023:
According to the Walk Free Foundation’s Global Slavery Index 2023, 50 million people are living in conditions of modern slavery – a 25% rise over the last five years.
- Modern slavery refers to situations of exploitation in that a person cannot refuse or leave because of threats, violence, coercion, or deception.
- It manifests as forced labour, child labour, forced marriage, debt bondage, commercial sexual exploitation, human trafficking, etc.
- Global Slavery Index is an assessment of modern slavery conditions in 160 countries.
- It uses data released by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), etc.
- The Index provides rankings across 3 dimensions: Size of the problem (prevalence), Government response and Vulnerability (political instability, inequality).
- The 2023 index is significant as India holds the G20 presidency this year, with a focus on sustainable development and climate change mitigation.
Highlights of the Global Slavery Index 2023:
- 50 million people were living in conditions of modern slavery on any given day in 2021.
- The practice has become more prevalent over the last five years (a 25%/10 million rise), due to climate change, armed conflict, weak governance and COVID-19.
- G20 nations account for more than half of all people living in modern slavery because their trade operations and global supply chains allow for human rights abuses.
- The situation within G20 nations: India tops the list with 11 million people working as forced labourers, followed by China, Russia, Indonesia, Turkey and the U.S.
