International Day for the Abolition of Slavery 2 December

One may hear comments such as : "Why do we still  have International Day for the Abolition of Slavery? Slavery ended a long time ago". Please, read below and draw a conclusion on this issue: 

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO) more than 40 million people worldwide are victims of modern slavery, an umbrella term covering practices such as forced labour, debt bondage, forced marriage, and human trafficking. 

In addition, more than 150 million children are subject to child labour, accounting for almost one in ten children around the world.

Facts and figures:

• An estimated 40.3 million people are in modern slavery, including 24.9 in forced labour and 15.4 million in forced marriage.
• There are 5.4 victims of modern slavery for every 1,000 people in the world.
• 1 in 4 victims of modern slavery are children.
• Out of the 24.9 million people trapped in forced labour, 16 million people are exploited in the private sector such as domestic work, construction or agriculture; 4.8 million people in forced sexual exploitation, and 4 million people in forced labour imposed by state authorities.
• Women and girls are disproportionately affected by forced labour, accounting for 99% of victims in the commercial sex industry, and 58% in other sectors.

We can, therefore, state that slavery has evolved and manifested itself in different ways throughout history. Today some traditional forms of slavery still persist in their earlier forms, while others have been transformed into new ones.

As educators, we cannot fail to raise awareness among our students on the fact that modern slavery is all around us. Fortunately, there are several non-profit organizations that make our work easier by providing us with a variety of classroom resources. Today I would like to recommend The No Project. This award-winning anti-slavery campaign includes animations, music videos, films and nine free downloadable lesson plans on different themes related to modern slavery. 

I am sure I will hear about the positive outcomes of these teaching units in our next seminar session. Meanwhile, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the partners and sponsors of The No Project for their superb campaign against modern slavery.