Modern Day Slavery In The United States

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Modern Day Slavery “Slavery is not a simple matter of one person holding another by force; it is an insidious mutual dependence that is remarkably difficult to break out of.” – Kevin Bales. Many think modern day slavery is not an issue, but in reality, it is a very real and growing phenomenon. Statistics for slavery are extremely unreliable, because the issue of slavery is so hard to detect, let alone put a figure on. Even though most countries banned slavery 150 years ago, many men, women, and children are still affected by it today. The 1956 UN supplementary convention describes modern day slavery as: “debt bondage, serfdom, forced marriage, and the delivery of a child for the exploitation of that child are all slavery-like practices…show more content…
Slavery has been fruitful in giving herself names… and it will call itself by yet another name; and you and I and all of us had better wait and see what new form this old monster will assume, in what skin this old snake will come forth.” As mentioned, slavery has taken on several different forms all over the world. Some of these forms include: domestic servitude, forced labor, child labor, sex trafficking, and even bonded labor (Slavery Today, 2015). Domestic servitude falls in the category of labor trafficking. It makes up the second highest form of slavery. Many domestic workers experience abuse, resulting in them essentially being held in bondage. Many women are tricked into domestic servitude with promises of education in America. These women could report the abuse, but this usually results in deportation, because most visas require that domestic servants stay with their original “employer”. This usually deters women from reporting their abusers (Domestic Servitude,…show more content…
Migrants are taken advantage of and forced to work for little to no money, children are coerced into being child soldiers, and women are beaten and forced into the world of prostitution. Modern day slavery is everywhere. One way to prevent it is to raise awareness. In an attempt to bring light to this issue in the US, President Obama has declared January “National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention” month, along with setting aside February 1st as “National Freedom Day”. In the past fifteen years, more than one hundred countries have passed anti-trafficking laws: several have set up specialized law enforcement units, set up trafficking victim assistance mechanisms, and launched public awareness campaigns aimed at fighting this crime (Johnstone,
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