There are an estimated 17,000 people living in conditions of slavery in Canada (GSI 2018). Both Canadian and foreign citizens are exploited in forced labour and sex trafficking. Forced labour affects migrant workers under ‘low-skilled’ temporary visa streams including the low-wage and primary agricultural streams. These workers are often in restaurants, hotels, agriculture, food preparation, construction or domestic work. Sexual exploitation of Canadian citizens is the most common form of slavery detected by authorities in the country, with 93% of sex trafficking victims being Canadian. As a child Jessa was sexually abused by family members and given to child pornographers. She tells of how this then led to the pornographer selling her body to men and other pimps. Jessa was trafficked across Canada, the US and other countries, forced to provide sexual services to men and women. At the age of 21 Jessa was approached by a woman working with survivors of trafficking. This began Jessa’s journey to freedom.

There are an estimated 85,000 people living in modern slavery in Yemen (GSI 2018). Young girls are subjected to child forced marriage, with UNICEF estimating 32% of girls being married before the age of 18. There is currently no legal age of marriage in Yemen and poverty, the practice of dowry and strict social and religious customs are drivers of child marriage in the country. With the onset of conflict within the country, estimates suggest that child marriage is on the rise.  Tehani was 8 years old when she was forced to marry a man much older than her.

There are an estimated 614,000 people living in conditions of modern slavery in Ethiopia (GSI 2018). Child marriage remains a deeply rooted tradition in Ethiopian communities with two in five girls being married before their 18th birthday. Child marriage is perpetuated in the country by poverty, lack of access to education and an absence of economic opportunities. Moreover, 80% of women have experienced female genital mutilation/cutting, with over half of these circumcisions occurring before a girl's first birthday. Destaye was 11 years old when she was chosen by a priest in his twenties to be his wife. Her husband said he wanted a young, uneducated bride to ensure her virginity. He promised Destaye she could continue her education after giving birth, however childcare and having to work with her husband farming has meant she has been unable to. Destaye wanted to be a doctor.

The Global Slavery Index 2018 estimates that on any given day there were nearly 8 million people living in modern slavery in India. While the bonded labour system is formally abolished and criminalised, recent research indicated that bonded labour is still prevalent in India. A 2016 report found that in the state of Tamil Nadu, 351 of 743 spinning mills used bonded labour schemes, otherwise known as Sumangali schemes. Similarly in granite quarries, wage advances and loans with an interest ranging from 24% to 36% are used to bond workers. Situations of debt bondage are often aggravated by the need to raise emergency funds or take on loans for health crises.  Uday became a bonded labourer after taking up his father’s loan. Uday tells of the process of borrowing money from a landlord and of the caste dynamics between landlord and bonded labourer.

The Global Slavery Index 2018 estimates that on any given day there were nearly 8 million people living in modern slavery in India. While the bonded labour system is formally abolished and criminalised, recent research indicated that bonded labour is still prevalent in India. A 2016 report found that in the state of Tamil Nadu, 351 of 743 spinning mills used bonded labour schemes, otherwise known as Sumangali schemes. Similarly in granite quarries, wage advances and loans with an interest ranging from 24% to 36% are used to bond workers. Situations of debt bondage are often aggravated by the need to raise emergency funds or take on loans for health crises.  Ram became a bonded labourer after taking out a loan of 30,000 rupees. Ram speaks of the caste system and how landlords do not want to abolish bonded labour, despite them paying their labourers less and less and giving out smaller loans. Ram has been able to pay off most of his debt and now works as a daily wageworker to pay off the rest.

The Global Slavery Index 2018 estimates that on any given day there were nearly 8 million people living in modern slavery in India. While the bonded labour system is formally abolished and criminalised, recent research indicated that bonded labour is still prevalent in India. A 2016 report found that in the state of Tamil Nadu, 351 of 743 spinning mills used bonded labour schemes, otherwise known as Sumangali schemes. Similarly in granite quarries, wage advances and loans with an interest ranging from 24% to 36% are used to bond workers. Situations of debt bondage are often aggravated by the need to raise emergency funds or take on loans for health crises.  Pandit is a third generation bonded labourer after inheriting his family’s debt. Pandit tells of how he was subjected to physical abuse from his landlord who was never happy with the work he did and that the police did not take complaints seriously. Now out of bonded labour for 18 years, Pandit does not want to go back.

The Global Slavery Index 2018 estimates that on any given day there were nearly 8 million people living in modern slavery in India. While the bonded labour system is formally abolished and criminalised, recent research indicated that bonded labour is still prevalent in India. A 2016 report found that in the state of Tamil Nadu, 351 of 743 spinning mills used bonded labour schemes, otherwise known as Sumangali schemes. Similarly in granite quarries, wage advances and loans with an interest ranging from 24% to 36% are used to bond workers. Situations of debt bondage are often aggravated by the need to raise emergency funds or take on loans for health crises.  Mahendra has been working as a bonded labourer in Uttar Pradesh for years, having borrowed money first to support his family, and again when his son needed a heart operation. Here, Mahendra suggests that bonded labour is often better than daily wagework and that government schemes are ineffective.

The Global Slavery Index 2018 estimates that on any given day there were nearly 8 million people living in modern slavery in India. While the bonded labour system is formally abolished and criminalised, recent research indicated that bonded labour is still prevalent in India. A 2016 report found that in the state of Tamil Nadu, 351 of 743 spinning mills used bonded labour schemes, otherwise known as Sumangali schemes. Similarly in granite quarries, wage advances and loans with an interest ranging from 24% to 36% are used to bond workers. Situations of debt bondage are often aggravated by the need to raise emergency funds or take on loans for health crises.  Despite his family having their own land, Kishan became a bonded labourer after taking a 10,000 rupee advance for working on a farm. Though he was able to take daily wagework when offered to him, he was scolded by his landlord for it, who insisted that he gave him money so he should work on his farm. Though Kishan states that he was a good landlord, he also suggests that bonded labour brought pain in to his life.

The Global Slavery Index 2018 estimates that on any given day there were nearly 8 million people living in modern slavery in India. While the bonded labour system is formally abolished and criminalised, recent research indicated that bonded labour is still prevalent in India. A 2016 report found that in the state of Tamil Nadu, 351 of 743 spinning mills used bonded labour schemes, otherwise known as Sumangali schemes. Similarly in granite quarries, wage advances and loans with an interest ranging from 24% to 36% are used to bond workers. Situations of debt bondage are often aggravated by the need to raise emergency funds or take on loans for health crises.  Irfan became a bonded labourer when he borrowed money after becoming sick. It took him 20 years to pay of this debt, forcing him to borrow more to pay for food and his children’s schooling.

The Global Slavery Index 2018 estimates that on any given day there were nearly 8 million people living in modern slavery in India. While the bonded labour system is formally abolished and criminalised, recent research indicated that bonded labour is still prevalent in India. A 2016 report found that in the state of Tamil Nadu, 351 of 743 spinning mills used bonded labour schemes, otherwise known as Sumangali schemes. Similarly in granite quarries, wage advances and loans with an interest ranging from 24% to 36% are used to bond workers. Situations of debt bondage are often aggravated by the need to raise emergency funds or take on loans for health crises.  Atal works as a bonded labourer in Uttar Pradesh. He tells of the difference between his and his father’s time, the restrictions placed on him due to his caste and how it is almost impossible to ever pay off borrowed debt. He also tells of how he once stood for election in his community in an attempt to obtain justice for bonded labourers.

The Global Slavery Index 2018 estimates that on any given day there were nearly 8 million people living in modern slavery in India. While the bonded labour system is formally abolished and criminalised, recent research indicated that bonded labour is still prevalent in India. A 2016 report found that in the state of Tamil Nadu, 351 of 743 spinning mills used bonded labour schemes, otherwise known as Sumangali schemes. Similarly in granite quarries, wage advances and loans with an interest ranging from 24% to 36% are used to bond workers. Situations of debt bondage are often aggravated by the need to raise emergency funds or take on loans for health crises.  Kunwar took out a loan from a landlord to start building his house, working as a bonded labourer until he was 22, with his final debt being paid off when he was 33.

There are an estimated 336,000 people living in modern slavery in Tanzania (GSI 2018). Internal trafficking is more prevalent than transnational trafficking and characteristically facilitated by victims’ family members, friends, or intermediaries offering assistance with education or securing employment in urban areas. Impoverished children from the rural interior remain most vulnerable to trafficking. Girls are exploited in domestic servitude throughout the country and in sex trafficking particularly in tourist hubs and along the border with Kenya. Sophia was 14 years old when she became a domestic worker. Forced to work long hours with no rest, Sophia was subjected to verbal abuse and her pay was withheld. One day Sophia was finally able to leave her situation and contacted Agape, an organisation supported by Anti-Slavery International. Sophia is now rebuilding her life.

Our History, Our Heritage was a black-led Bristol group promoting historical awareness of the contributions of African, African-Caribbean and British peoples in past and present struggles, and in Bristol in particular. Their series of talks and educational initiatives sought to encourage 'creative education in Citizenship and British, Afrikan, Afrikan Caribbean History', taking inspiration from 'those who have gone before'.

Manor House Museum in Kettering, in collaboration with local community groups, produced a touring exhibition which explored Kettering's involvement with the anti-slave-trade movement and issues of modern day slavery. The museum focused in particular on the life of ​William Knibb (1803-1845), a missionary from Kettering who taught slaves in Jamaica in the 1820s against the will of local slave owners and toured Britain speaking out against slavery. The museum produced a loans box containing material relating to Knibb and continues to have a permanent display dedicated to the missionary.

'House Slave - Field Slave: A Portrait of Contemporary Slavery' was created in 2007 by Nicola Green in collaboration with Anti-Slavery International and first exhibited at Dulwich Picture Gallery. The artwork explored the concept of contemporary slavery and the stories of those still enslaved. The exhibition consisted of a large 'altarpiece' scale triptych set alongside artefacts of contemporary slavery from the International Slavery Museum and photos and text from Anti-Slavery International. It was later exhibited as part of Haringey's Black History Month at Bruce Castle Museum in 2010. The triptych is now in the permanent collection at the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool. Workshops were held at Dulwich Picture Gallery, The Prince’s Drawing Clubs, and International Slavery Museum in which students developed their skills in reading a work of art as a narrative, and responded by creating artworks that told their own personal story.

It is estimated that almost 8 million people are living in conditions of modern slavery in India (GSI 2018). The skewed sex ratio in some regions of India has fuelled the trafficking and selling of women and young girls as brides within India. Women are reportedly sold off into marriage by their families, sometimes at a young age, and end up enduring severe abuse, rape and exploitation by their husbands. It is also reported that women and girls from impoverished backgrounds have been lured by promises of marriage by younger men from urban areas, then forced into sex work once married.  Vajja Anitha’s father died when she was 7 years old, having accumulated a lot of debt to pay for his treatment, Anthia’s family fixed marriages for her and her sisters at young ages and against their wishes. Here Anitha tells of her own and her sisters’ experiences of child marriage in India. 

It is estimated that almost 8 million people are living in conditions of modern slavery in India (GSI 2018). The skewed sex ratio in some regions of India has fuelled the trafficking and selling of women and young girls as brides within India. Women are reportedly sold off into marriage by their families, sometimes at a young age, and end up enduring severe abuse, rape and exploitation by their husbands. It is also reported that women and girls from impoverished backgrounds have been lured by promises of marriage by younger men from urban areas, then forced into sex work once married.  Dharavath Vennela’s marriage was fixed when she was 14 years old against her will. Despite her protests, her parents insisted on the marriage. As a result, Vennela informed MV Foundation to prevent the marriage.

It is estimated that almost 8 million people are living in conditions of modern slavery in India (GSI 2018). The skewed sex ratio in some regions of India has fuelled the trafficking and selling of women and young girls as brides within India. Women are reportedly sold off into marriage by their families, sometimes at a young age, and end up enduring severe abuse, rape and exploitation by their husbands. It is also reported that women and girls from impoverished backgrounds have been lured by promises of marriage by younger men from urban areas, then forced into sex work once married.  Gunde Mounika’s parents fixed her marriage against her will. Wanting to continue her studies Mounika called on the help of her friends and went on a hunger strike to prevent the marriage.

It is estimated that almost 8 million people are living in conditions of modern slavery in India (GSI 2018). The skewed sex ratio in some regions of India has fuelled the trafficking and selling of women and young girls as brides within India. Women are reportedly sold off into marriage by their families, sometimes at a young age, and end up enduring severe abuse, rape and exploitation by their husbands. It is also reported that women and girls from impoverished backgrounds have been lured by promises of marriage by younger men from urban areas, then forced into sex work once married.  Jedagoni Anusha was 12 years old when her marriage was fixed against her will. She contacted MVF who intervened to stop the marriage, however Anusha’s parents have stopped her going to school and she has been physically abused by her family for preventing the marriage.

It is estimated that almost 8 million people are living in conditions of modern slavery in India (GSI 2018). The skewed sex ratio in some regions of India has fuelled the trafficking and selling of women and young girls as brides within India. Women are reportedly sold off into marriage by their families, sometimes at a young age, and end up enduring severe abuse, rape and exploitation by their husbands. It is also reported that women and girls from impoverished backgrounds have been lured by promises of marriage by younger men from urban areas, then forced into sex work once married.  Chakali Mounika received threats from her family after she refused to marry. While her marriage has been stopped with the help of MV Foundation, her father now refuses to allow her to go to school or leave the house.