Anti-Slavery Day celebrated, creating awareness OCT 18

People with slaves?
They don’t know how to behave, so let’s demonstrate …
Anti Slavery Day
18 October 2014

What do you think when you hear Anti Slavery Day?

That slavery is something of the past? It should be, yet it’s still rife in many parts of the world. Slavery has existed almost as long as human beings themselves, having been recorded as far back as the fifth century BC. Many people were treated as dogs – locked in chains around their hands, feet and even their necks. Beatings with whips was common practice and body parts were often cut off over trivial things or nothing at all.

They were not seen as human but as objects – a commodity that could be bought and sold for money to better the capitalist market and the wealthy individual!

WHAT ABOUT THE MEN?

THE SILENCE ON MALE VICTIMS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN CONFLICT
The lack of attention paid to the sexual abuse of men in conflict is particularly disturbing given the extent of the problem.

In recent years sexual violence against men has been documented as a feature of conflicts in Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala, Sri Lanka, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Liberia, the former Yugoslavia, and many other countries. For example, 21% of Sri Lankan Tamil males said they had experienced sexual abuse while in detention, and a study of 6,000 concentration camp detainees in Sarajevo found that 80% of the males had been raped. A 2010 study in the DRC reported 23.6% of men having been subject to sexual violence, with 64.5% of the sexual violence being conflict-related.

So when did we ‘stop‘ slavery?

Why Anti Slavery Day?

The Abolition of the Slave Trade Act was finally passed in 1807 and all slaves were freed over the next twenty years.

So how very disappointing then that here in the 21st century we need a day like this to raise awareness!

Did you know that millions of people in the modern world are treated as slaves? It’s happening in places like Africa, South Asia, Europe and Latin America.

It’s not true to say we’ve regressed completely. Slavery is illegal, the problem is that much of it, including child slavery, goes on behind closed doors and in some places the laws aren’t enforced enough.

I once wrote a play on human trafficking – because at the time I’d been reading a lot about young women who were being exploited in the UK and I thought it was very important that these women were given a voice!

Your money could help a ‘slave’ escape their ‘master’ and find a job that doesn’t involve the exploitation of this person. A sum as little as $10 could provide briefings for campaigners to send leaflets to government that protests against the problem and demands the freedom of slaves. DONATE HERE

If you’re interested in getting involved and taking action visit the Anti Slavery Day website for more information.

Let’s all show we are for anti slavery beginning right now. One small impact from you could make such a huge difference in the long-run … so show your support for Anti Slavery Day!

HUMAN TRAFFICKING in our Modern World surpasses any ‘slavery’ in history, and has no place in our world. Take Action!

Human trafficking has no place in the modern world, the President of the General Assembly declared today at a special event at United Nations Headquarters ahead of the observance of the first ever World Day against Trafficking in Persons. July 2014.

“Millions of people, the majority of whom are women and children, are victims of a modern form of slavery – we call it human trafficking,” John Ashe said, noting that an estimated 2.5 million people are victim to this scourge.

Men, women and children fall into the hands of traffickers both in their own countries and abroad,” he stated. “Every country in the world is affected by human trafficking, whether as a country of origin, transit or destination for victims.”

Funding organizations that directly assist the victims is a key instrument to providing support, said Mr. Ashe, as he encouraged all Member States to do their part in financing the UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Human Trafficking.

“Not only is human trafficking one of the most grotesque violations of human rights, it is a lucrative crime for perpetrators,” the President pointed out. “With annual profits as high as $36 billion per year, it ranks as the world’s third most profitable crime after illicit drug and arms trafficking.”

A Global Report on Trafficking in Persons launched today by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) provides new information on a crime that shames us all.

Based on data gathered from 155 countries, it offers the first global assessment of the scope of human trafficking and what is being done to fight it. It includes: an overview of trafficking patterns; legal steps taken in response; and country-specific information on reported cases of trafficking in persons, victims, and prosecutions.

According to the Report, the most common form of human trafficking (79%) is sexual exploitation. The victims of sexual exploitation are predominantly women and girls. Surprisingly, in 30% of the countries which provided information on the gender of traffickers, women make up the largest proportion of traffickers. In some parts of the world, women trafficking women is the norm.

The second most common form of human trafficking is forced labour (18%), although this may be a misrepresentation because forced labour is less frequently detected and reported than trafficking for sexual exploitation.

Worldwide, almost 20% of all trafficking victims are children. However, in some parts of Africa and the Mekong region, children are the majority (up to 100% in parts of West Africa). FULL REPORT HERE

Forced labour, human trafficking and slavery

Facts and figures
~ Almost 21 million people are victims of forced labour – 11.4 million women and girls and 9.5 million men and boys.
~ Almost 19 million victims are exploited by private individuals or enterprises and over 2 million by the state or rebel groups.
~ Of those exploited by individuals or enterprises, 4.5 million are victims of forced sexual exploitation.
~ Forced labour in the private economy generates US$ 150 billion in illegal profits per year.
~ Domestic work, agriculture, construction, manufacturing and entertainment are among the sectors most concerned.
~ Migrant workers and indigenous people are particularly vulnerable to forced labour.

FEATURED IMAGE