50 million enslaved a ‘shocking’ increase

A student from India paid $6 an hour to staff an Auckland liquor shop. A horticulture worker from Vanuatu housed in a freezing, crowded motel who became so sick he coughed blood. A Northland teenager sold by her ‘‘boyfriend’’ to older men for sex.

The term ‘‘slavery’’ brings to mind images of people in shackles and bosses with whips – crimes consigned to history. But data shows more people are enslaved now than even five years ago, including in New Zealand.

An estimated 50 million people are living in modern slavery – up 10 million since 2016 – according to the 2021 Global Estimates of Modern Slavery, which was released yesterday by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Walk Free and the International Organisation for Migration.

‘‘It is shocking that the situation of modern slavery is not improving,’’ ILO director-general Guy Ryder said.

Modern slavery is defined as severe exploitation that a person cannot leave because of threats, violence or deception. It includes forced labour, sexual exploitation, debt bondage, forced marriage, slavery, and human trafficking.

The numbers comprise 28 million in forced labour and 22 million in forced marriages. The Asia-pacific region is host to more than half of the total of people in modern slavery (15.1 million).

Crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic, armed conflicts, and climate change all heightened the risk of slavery because of employment disruption and increases in extreme poverty and unsafe migration, the index said. ‘‘It is those who are already in situations of greatest vulnerability – including the poor and socially excluded, workers in the informal economy, irregular or otherwise unprotected migrant workers, and people subject to discrimination – who are most affected.’’