Is There Still Slavery in the World?

In Africa, a household may have several slaves who are of a different ethnic or religious background than their owners.
Women and children are the most frequent victims of slavery.
Individuals who are controlled by their employer, whether physically, mentally, or financially, is a slave.
Children who are orphaned are at a high risk of becoming involved in human trafficking.
African slaves worked as sugar cane cutters in South America.
In some cultures a family may force a daughter into an arranged marriage for their benefit.
Human trafficking, forced labor and arranged marriage are all considered examples of modern slavery.
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  • Written By: Mary McMahon
  • Edited By: Bronwyn Harris
  • Last Modified Date: 04 December 2014
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Sadly, the answer to this question is yes. According to Anti-Slavery International, over 27 million people around the world are slaves, and at least 200 million people exist in some form of bondage. Many people are surprised to learn that modern slavery is a thriving industry, because they associate the term “slavery” with the Triangular Trade that once existed between Europe, Africa, and America. Technically, slavery is globally banned, but people are still bought and sold in slave markets, and are also coerced into working through physical, mental, and economic threats. Numerous advocacy organizations work to educate people about slavery and to free the slaves worldwide.

A slave is not merely someone who is treated as property which can be bought or sold. If someone is forced to work through threats and intimidation, he or she is a slave, because the work is not being undertaken with free will. An individual who is also heavily controlled by his or her employer, whether physically, mentally, or financially, is also a slave. Finally, restrictions on a person's freedom of movement can also be considered a form of slavery: many slaves work in chains, or are not permitted to leave certain areas without reprisals.


There are a number of different types of modern slavery including human trafficking, bonded labor, arranged marriage, and forced labor. Human trafficking refers to the transport of individuals, usually across borders, and often for sex work. In the United States alone, approximately 800,000 women and children are trafficked yearly, according to the United States State Department. In most instances, victims of trafficking are brought to industrialized nations for sex work, often with promises of high paying respectable jobs. In some cases, the victims are sold by their own families, who are desperate for money.

Bonded labor is especially common in Asia, Latin America, and Africa. A bonded slave is technically free, but heavily indebted to an employer, who advances a loan to help the laborer pay for medical care, buy a home, or handle some other serious expense. The bonded laborer is kept forever in debt as the employer continues to advance loans, and ultimately will never get ahead. Often his or her family members will become slaves by descent, forced to work off the debt of their parents.

Arranged marriage is considered by many to be a more nebulous form of slavery. In many nations, young women and girls are forced into marriages without consent. In some cases, the women live highly restricted lives and are essentially used as household servants. Some women forced into arranged marriages are beaten, forced to work in sweatshops, or pushed into sex work, usually to profit their husbands. In addition to the lack of freedom an arranged marriage implies, many of these women live in virtual slavery.

In the case of forced labor, slaves are physically coerced into work by a government, organization, or company. Child soldiers in Africa are an example of forced labor, as are sugar cane cutters in South America. Forced laborers often work at gunpoint, and endure immense physical and psychological stress. Many forced laborers are children, who are kidnapped, bought, and sold as disposable commodities.

Children and women are the most frequent victims of slavery. Millions of women and children are sold yearly, and work in a variety of dangerous conditions. Carpet weaving, brick making, and agricultural industries often rely heavily on slaves. In Africa especially, a household may have several slaves who are of a different ethnic or religious background than their owners; this is especially common in Mali. Slaves fight for revolutionary movements, labor in factories, till fields, and work in sex parlors around the world. People who would like to learn more about how they can make a difference can look up local chapters of anti-slavery advocacy organizations such as Anti-Slavery International and Free the Slaves.


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Post 3

@ Georgesplane- I recently read an article about a husband and wife couple who were arrested on charges of kidnapping and human slavery somewhere on the east coast (Philadelphia maybe). The girls that this family kidnapped were not forced into sexual slavery; rather they were being forced to work in their family business as hairdressers. Their family in their home country thought they were being treated well and receiving an American education only to find out that they were being enslaved for no pay. This was a very sad example of modern American slavery in action.

After reading that story, I started following links on the subject and found stories from all over the country and the world regarding human slavery. I was reading that the act of enslaving people for labor is still very prevalent in this country, and the states with the most modern slaves are Florida, New York, and Texas. Men and women are being enslaved to work in fields, clean hotel rooms, be house cleaners in expensive homes, and work in salons and spas.

Post 2

@ ValleyFiah- Honestly it is no secret that there is human slavery in this country, and most people simply don't care enough to do anything about it. I wouldn't think it would be too hard to change a few laws that would protect the lives of all of these women and children forced to do sexual acts for no pay. If you flip to the back of any college, or alternative city paper you will find countless ads that are blatantly advertising the services of young, mostly foreign women of questionable age.

A little regulation in advertising would greatly diminish the market for these services. What I don't understand is why blatant sex ads can be posted in magazines and free papers yet such a strong stance is taken on alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana. There is more government intervention in mundane aspects of our daily lives then there is in protecting the lives of hundreds of thousands of exploited women and children in this country. Our country's history of slavery is shameful and we haven't learned from it yet.

Post 1

I was recently reading a disturbing article in the New York Times online about slavery today (the article is actually a couple of years old, so the numbers have likely changed some). I was shocked to learn that an estimated 18,000 international migrants are rounded up and smuggled into this country to be sold into slavery.

The article stated that about 80 percent of those smuggled to this country as slaves are women and children that are being funneled into the sex trade in major cities across the country. That's about 14,000 to 15,000 women and children ‘PER YEAR’ that are being smuggled in to this country to fulfill the needs of perverts and sickos to abuse. To me, this is mind boggling, especially in a country that is supposed to be as free as ours. I think that the story was written in response to a slavery ring that was trafficking in Korean girls who were forced into prostitution a couple of years back. It is sad to see that a society as advanced as ours is still supporting this slave trade behind closed doors.

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