Could’ you give a brief description of modern slavery - and perhaps an example of how it might occur/ manifest itself?
Modern slavery is an umbrella term that encompasses a range of practices including human trafficking, debt bondage, forced marriage, forced labour and child labour. It also includes concepts such as descentbased or traded slavery. These are situations where a person is exploited and cannot leave because of violence or violent threats, coercion, deception or abuse of power. This often includes having the means of leaving taken away - such as having ID documents withheld, or being unable to navigate within a foreign country or region because of language, cultural or legal barriers.
In Aotearoa New Zealand, modern slavery sits at the extreme end of a spectrum of conditions that are illegal here under employment and immigration law. At one end there are breaches of employment law, such as requiring someone to pay to receive a job, while the other end of the spectrum includes human trafficking and sexual exploitation.
Being aware of these definitions is an important step to addressing how modern slavery is relevant and important to Aotearoa New Zealand businesses. Examples of manifestation include workers being underpaid for the hours worked - commonly found in agriculture, construction, factories, hospitality and retail services such as liquor stores, car washes and beauty salons.
Globally are there any figures around the estimated number of people w ho are deem ed to be ‘m odern slaves’and what nationalities/ countries are
