Slavery: The Facts?

Okay, as you know, we've adopted a cause at The Empty Room this year. We are delving into the dark world of human trafficking & enslavement in an attempt to shed some light on this huge issue.

Sound simple? I wish it were.

When it comes to knowing about human rights on this planet of ours, we are living in the dark ages. Just take a look at this research done by some of the world's leading experts about human rights: "Some 12.3 million people are enslaved worldwide..." – this comes from a report by the International Labour Organization entitled "A Global Alliance Against Forced Labour."(1) Seems pretty succinct doesn't it? 12.3 is a definite number, it must be somewhat accurate, right? 

Take a look at these statistics then: Siddharth Kara (an expert on the modern slave trade & acclaimed author) estimated there would be 29.9 million slaved by the end of 2009 (2). Twelve point three versus twenty nine point nine million? That's a discrepancy of over seventeen million. And that's just the start of it, "According to the U.S. Department of State’s 2007 Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report), estimates vary from 4 to 27 million."(5) 

What? Four to twenty seven million? Who comes up with these numbers? So, let me get this straight, the world's experts – the people who seemingly know more about this problem than anyone else – cannot agree on a number with less than a 25.9 million-person margin of error. That's the equivalent of over two-thirds the population of Canada (4) – in errors. That, to me, spells a big problem.

What is known is that since the legal abolition of slavery, the number of enslaved people has not decreased; it has, in fact, gone up. There are more slaves today than at any other point in human history. (3)

Why is there so little said about this in the media? Why is there such poor information about this? It’s no wonder this issue is so easily swept under the rug when the public simply isn’t informed about it. What can we do then? Simply put, we must spread the word, support the few organizations who do make a difference, and put pressure on politicians – starting with our local MPs – to help turn the tide on this $31.6 billion dollar illegal industry (1).

–The Empty Room
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Sources / Bibliography

1) BBC News Website – http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4534393.stm
2) Kara, Siddharth (October 2008). Sex Trafficking – Inside the Business of Modern Slavery. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0231139601.
3) By E. Benjamin Skinner Monday, Jan. 18, 2010 (2010-01-18). "sex trafficking in South Africa: World Cup slavery fear". Time.com.
4) Statistics Canada – http://www.statcan.gc.ca/ig-gi/pop-ca-eng.htm

5) Polaris Project (Detailing US State Department's TIP Report) http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=human%20trafficking%20stats%20per%20year&source=web&cd=5&ved=0CEUQFjAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cicatelli.org%2FtitleX%2Fdownloadable%2FHuman%2520Trafficking%2520Statistics.pdf&ei=PnIbT5Y_r7fRAejI6JoL&usg=AFQjCNGsLd5RP5StE4Vcu6y-0kER3YM8lA&sig2=6oLYBSBOlemrZZV957MqYA&cad=rja