Debt Bondage

Bonded labor, also known as debt bondage or debt slavery, is a form of labor in which a person is forced to work to pay off a debt. This practice is illegal in many countries, including the United States, as it is considered a form of modern-day slavery. Bonded labor often occurs in developing countries, where it is used as a means of securing cheap labor. In some cases, people may be tricked or coerced into accepting a loan, only to find out later that the terms of the loan are impossible to fulfill and that they are effectively trapped in a cycle of debt. This practice can have devastating effects on individuals and their families, as they are often forced to work long hours under dangerous or exploitative conditions in order to pay off their debt.

ISSUE BRIEF: 2021-2023: Child Exploitation at the Southern Border
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ISSUE BRIEF: 2021-2023: Child Exploitation at the Southern Border

TOPLINE POINTS The Biden Administration’s open border policies are responsible for the record setting number of unaccompanied alien children (UACs) trafficked or smuggled to the U.S. southern border. These vulnerable children are being exploited and abused by Mexican cartels, human traffickers, corporations, and their own families on the journey north and after the Biden Administration…

DEREK SMITH: Uniting to battle modern slavery
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DEREK SMITH: Uniting to battle modern slavery

In celebration of June 19, an historic date in history that marked the abolition of slavery in Texas, financial crime professionals are grappling with a different but uncomfortably similar problem: Modern day slavery and human trafficking. The Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) defines modern slavery as “an umbrella term that covers a set of…

Aussie woman reveals harrowing life kept as a ‘slave’
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Aussie woman reveals harrowing life kept as a ‘slave’

An Australian woman has bravely revealed the “catastrophic” impact being a ‘modern slave’ has had on her life — something thousands of people around the country still face in 2023. Sarah, whose name has been changed for privacy reasons, grew up in what she believes was a cult “influenced by an extreme religious group”. She…

Explained | What has India done to address child trafficking?
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Explained | What has India done to address child trafficking?

The story so far: “There are 160 million children waiting for your action. How long will they have to wait?” asked Kinsu Kumar, a survivor of child labour and rights advocate, while speaking at a panel organised on the occasion of World Day Against Child Labour. Mr. Kumar started working at the age of six,…

ExplainSpeaking | Global Slavery Index: Where does India rank, and why are its findings contested?
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ExplainSpeaking | Global Slavery Index: Where does India rank, and why are its findings contested?

ExplainSpeaking-Economy is a weekly newsletter by Udit Misra, delivered in your inbox every Monday morning. Click here to subscribe Last week saw the publication of the Global Slavery Index 2023. According to it, on any given day in 2021, as many as 50 million people were living in “modern slavery”. Among these 50 million, 28 million…

US Department of Labor honors Lalitha Natarajan as recipient of 2023 Iqbal Masih Award for the Elimination of Child Labor
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US Department of Labor honors Lalitha Natarajan as recipient of 2023 Iqbal Masih Award for the Elimination of Child Labor

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that Lalitha Natarajan, an activist in the fight against child labor and modern slavery in India, is the recipient of the 2023 Iqbal Masih Award for the Elimination of Child Labor. The award was presented at the U.S. Consulate General in Chennai, India. “Lalitha Natarajan’s tremendous…

Forced labour: avoiding the risk in international trade
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Forced labour: avoiding the risk in international trade

The European Commission has proposed banning all products made using forced labour from the EU market, whether produced domestically or imported. If the proposal introduced in late 2022 comes into force, it will impact many labour-intensive industries and related foreign trade and investment worldwide, creating new challenges for Chinese enterprises trading with Europe. Several Western…

INTERPOL issues global warning on human trafficking-fueled fraud
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INTERPOL issues global warning on human trafficking-fueled fraud

SINGAPORE: For the past several years, INTERPOL has been closely observing a growing crime phenomenon: large-scale human trafficking where victims are lured through fake job ads to online scam centres and forced to commit cyber-enabled financial crime on an industrial scale. The crime trend, which has seen tens of thousands trafficked in Southeast Asia and…

Ahead of TIP Report, Labor Rights Activists Urge U.S. to Call for Thailand and Taiwan to Protect Migrant Workers and End Forced Labor in Seafood Industry
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Ahead of TIP Report, Labor Rights Activists Urge U.S. to Call for Thailand and Taiwan to Protect Migrant Workers and End Forced Labor in Seafood Industry

WASHINGTON, DC (June 5, 2023) – Greenpeace USA, Global Labor Justice – International Labor Rights Forum (GLJ-ILRF), and allies in the Seafood Working Group (SWG) today announced their findings of labor rights violations, forced labor, and human trafficking of migrant workers in Thailand and Taiwan and called on the U.S. Department of State to downgrade…

Immigrant health workers fear they can’t escape contracts
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Immigrant health workers fear they can’t escape contracts

Immigrants hired to yearslong contracts to fill thousands of U.S. healthcare roles said they are paid less than their co-workers, deceived about benefits such as free housing and, if they try to leave, threatened with tens of thousands in debt, NBC News reported June 4. More than a dozen immigrant healthcare employees told the news…