Tag: slavery

In 2022, More Humans, Including Children are Enslaved Than Ever Before in History—We Must Do Better

Despite massive leaps and bounds in technology and quality of life across the planet, there is still a very dark problem and it is hiding in plain sight. Slavery. According to the most recent data, there are over 40 million people in slavery with 1 in 4 of them being children. Its scope is massive and so are its profits — raking in around $150 billion annually.

An estimated 40.3 million people are in some form of slavery in 167 countries around the world, according to the Global Slavery Index published by the Walk Free Foundation. This number is the highest it has ever been.

An article published in Psychology Today reminds us of the ominous state of the free world. “Never before in human history have this many people been enslaved,” write Jenny Hwang and Shayne Moore in their report on the heart-rending data about child trafficking.

In the US, child trafficking is a growing problem in all 50 states. Children, young girls—some as young as 9 years old—are being bought and sold for sex in America. The average age for a young woman being sold for sex is now 13 years old.

As the recent verdict in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial shows us, the problem goes all the way to the top.

Sex trafficking—especially when it comes to the buying and selling of young girls—has become big business in America, the fastest growing business in organized crime and the second most-lucrative commodity traded illegally after drugs and guns.

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Nike execs gave $60,000 to Democrat who blocked anti-slave labor bill

Several top Nike executives funneled more than $60,000 to the re-election campaign of Democratic Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden over the course of just 16 days in September.

On Wednesday evening, Wyden blocked the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act which the House passed unanimously Tuesday and the Senate was expected to overwhelmingly approve. President Joe Biden vowed to sign the bill once passed by both chambers and work with Congress to “ensure global supply chains are free of forced labor,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.

Nike, a major benefactor of Wyden, was one of several corporations to lobby against the bill, The New York Times previously reported. A March 2020 report from the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) concluded that the Oregon-based athletic apparel giant was one of several corporations suspected to either directly employ forced labor or source materials from suppliers using forced labor in Xinjiang.

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