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.

Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan approves draft amendments to the Human Trafficking Prevention Act
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Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan approves draft amendments to the Human Trafficking Prevention Act

On May 19, 2023, Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan passed amendments to the Human Trafficking Prevention Act (人口販運防制法) which aim at tightening punishments for human trafficking and attempted human trafficking. Main points of the amendments are as follows: 1. Sexual Exploitation: Those who use such means of debt bondage or another person’s inability, ignorance, or helplessness to…

G20 countries including India are fuelling modern slavery, says new report
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G20 countries including India are fuelling modern slavery, says new report

50 million people are living in conditions of modern slavery — a 25% rise over the last five years, says a new report. According to it, the Group of 20 nations are contributing to this increase, as their trade operations and global supply chains allow for human rights abuses. Among the G20 nations, India tops the…

U.S. among 17 countries that practice forced labor, a form of ‘modern slavery,’ report finds
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U.S. among 17 countries that practice forced labor, a form of ‘modern slavery,’ report finds

The 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the United States in 1865, with one exception: compulsory labor in prisons. “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States,” it reads. Nearly 160 years later, the United States is one of…

20+ Sex Trafficking Statistics in 2023
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20+ Sex Trafficking Statistics in 2023

Editor’s note: Reminder that all human trafficking statistics are difficult to gather, since it is a crime. We present the best information we can find, but data changes frequently and is often influenced by the group collecting the information and the amount of funding available.  Sex trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery that occurs…

Legal loophole allows child labor exploitation in the U.S.
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Legal loophole allows child labor exploitation in the U.S.

In the U.S., it is legal for children as young as 12 to work unlimited hours outside of school with parental approval if they’re working in agriculture. There are currently around 500,000 children who work in agriculture, planting, picking, and packaging crops. Even children protected by the American Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) are at…

Exploitative Child Labor Is Hurting Kids’ Ability to Stay in School
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Exploitative Child Labor Is Hurting Kids’ Ability to Stay in School

When Guatemalan immigrant Jose Velasquez was 13, he began spending his summers working alongside his mother in North Carolina’s tobacco fields. “I worked 10 to 12 hours a day, five days a week in the Goldsboro area,” he told Truthout. “I had to get up at 4:30 am. A rusty van would come by, cram…

36 Days of Type: Indian Laws That Shaped Our Lives
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36 Days of Type: Indian Laws That Shaped Our Lives

For #36DaysOfType, The Swaddle’s Denise D’Souza illustrated the A-Z of Indian laws that have impacted Indians in unforeseen ways. ⁠ The Armed Forces Special Powers Act of 1958 (AFSPA) grants the military the ability to maintain public order in ‘disturbed areas,’ through wide powers of arrest, the right to shoot to kill, and to occupy or…

Modern Slavery Overview and Update – Lexology
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Modern Slavery Overview and Update – Lexology

The Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) (MSA) requires entities that carry on business in Australia with an annual consolidated revenue of more than AU$100 million to report annually on how they address modern slavery risks in their operations and supply chains. The Australian government has recently finished consulting on the first three-year review of the…

Pieper Lewis Sentencing May 31st
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Pieper Lewis Sentencing May 31st

Pieper Lewis Sentencing Scheduled for May 31st On April 12th, the public defenders for Pieper spoke at a lecture on the Iowa State University campus entitled “Examining the Homicide Case of a Teenage Sex Trafficking Survivor”. Matthew Sheeley, Assistant State Public Defender, is shown in the photo speaking about the tireless effort to seek justice…

U.S. states might be running awful of international child labor laws – The Washington Post
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U.S. states might be running awful of international child labor laws – The Washington Post

The April 23 editorial responding to initiatives by Iowa and at least nine other states to undo child-labor protections, “Kids should mow lawns, not pour concrete,” might have mentioned that such legislation would contravene international human rights law to which the United States is a signatory.   Applied to those under 18, the International Labor…