Involuntary Servitude

Involuntary servitude is a form of slavery that involves the coercion of individuals to work against their will. It is a violation of human rights and a crime under international law.

Involuntary servitude can take many different forms, and it can affect people of all ages, genders, and nationalities. It can occur in many different settings, including factories, farms, mines, and private homes.

Involuntary servitude often involves the use of force, threats, or other forms of coercion to prevent individuals from leaving their place of work or to prevent them from seeking help. It can also involve the use of violence, abuse, or other forms of maltreatment to control and exploit individuals.

Involuntary servitude is often linked to other forms of exploitation, such as human trafficking, forced labor, or debt bondage. It is a pervasive and destructive crime that undermines the dignity and rights of its victims, and it is a serious violation of international law.

UN Report Urges End to Forced US Prison Labor—a ‘Contemporary Form of Slavery’
| | | |

UN Report Urges End to Forced US Prison Labor—a ‘Contemporary Form of Slavery’

A report published Thursday by United Nations human rights experts condemns systemic racism in the U.S. criminal justice system and policing, while describing “appalling” prison conditions and decrying forced unpaid convict labor as a “contemporary form of slavery.” The U.N. International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in the Context of Law…

Court Rejects Claim That Wife Was Civilly Responsible for Her Husband’s Raping Other Women
| |

Court Rejects Claim That Wife Was Civilly Responsible for Her Husband’s Raping Other Women

From today’s decision by Judge Jeffrey Helmick (N.D. Ohio) in Doe 1 v. Gupta: On March 19, 2020, Manish Raj Gupta was indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1591(a) and (b)(1), and one count of illegally dispensing a…

Forced Labor Continues in Colorado, Years After Vote to End Prison Slavery  – Bolts
| | | |

Forced Labor Continues in Colorado, Years After Vote to End Prison Slavery  – Bolts

Throughout Abron Arrington’s decades-long incarceration in Colorado, he often found himself in solitary confinement—not because he was causing trouble, but simply because he refused to work. He didn’t see the point given he was paid 13 cents an hour and figured his time could be better spent learning physics. Before Arrington was incarcerated in 1989,…

‘Human traffickers don’t care what you look like’
| |

‘Human traffickers don’t care what you look like’

Human trafficking in real life isn’t what movies make it out to be. There’s no superhero coming to save the day dramatically. It doesn’t just happen in foreign countries, it happens in the United States. It just doesn’t happen in big cities, it happens in communities like Fort Morgan and Brush, too. Anyone can become…

Florida keeps using unpaid prison labor to prepare for hurricanes
| | | |

Florida keeps using unpaid prison labor to prepare for hurricanes

  As Floridians prepared for Hurricane Idalia to make landfall on the upper central coast earlier this week, several counties deployed unpaid prison labor, as they have in the past, to fill the sandbags used to prevent flood damage. At least four counties — including Lake County, Polk County, Taylor County and Flagler County — relied on…

It’s Nearly Labor Day, and Congress Has a Chance to Abolish Prison Slavery
| | | |

It’s Nearly Labor Day, and Congress Has a Chance to Abolish Prison Slavery

Johnny Perez was arrested and incarcerated two days after his daughter was born, a heart-wrenching fact by itself. Perez wanted to be there for his daughter, but he was stuck at a state prison in Coxsackie, New York. He worked hard to save money, but his prison job sewing bed sheets started at 17 cents…

‘There is slavery in the fields of North Carolina’
| |

‘There is slavery in the fields of North Carolina’

I’ll never forget something that advocate and former farmworker Leticia Zavala said to me during an interview. “There is slavery in the fields of North Carolina.” She said it almost in passing, as part of a larger laundry list of abusive and deadly conditions experienced by farmworkers in the state as part of the H-2A…

Social Media “Human Trafficking Panic” Posts
| | | | |

Social Media “Human Trafficking Panic” Posts

How often do you see posts about some bizarre situation that might lead to human trafficking? We’ve seen enough of them to have an entire series on them. I was invited to answer some questions by a reporter, but their outlet shut down before they completed the article. Here are the answers I sent in!…

| | | |

Does involuntary servitude still exist in NJ? For now, it does — in prisons

People within the New Jersey prison system are required to work, and although the 13th Amendment eliminated slavery in the most basic sense, the idea of involuntary servitude is still allowed as …

Fight for Freedom: Tomoka Christian Church holds human trafficking awareness event | Observer Local News
| |

Fight for Freedom: Tomoka Christian Church holds human trafficking awareness event | Observer Local News

A mock tattoo parlor drew people into the walk-through experience, highlighting who is at risk of human trafficking. As viewers moved further into the exhibition, dimly lit boys’ and girls’ bedrooms were visible. A table with surgical instruments — alluding to illegal organ harvesting — and 90 photos of the faces of missing children completed…