The United Nations in 2015 announced its intention to eradicate modern slavery by 2030. Now, 10 years later and five years from that self-imposed deadline, the problem of human trafficking is worse than ever.
The number of people trapped in debt bondage, forced marriage, domestic servitude, and other situations that meet the definition of modern slavery has grown significantly. In 2016, the International Labor Organization and Walk Free Foundation estimated 40.3 million people were victims of one of these forms of exploitation. Today, even as many nations have passed strong anti-slavery laws and corporations pledge to monitor their global supply chains, that number has climbed to almost 50 million, according to the Global Slavery Index, which is 1 person in every 150, and the highest number in human history.
We are losing ground in our struggle to end modern slavery. To turn things around, we must listen to and fund local leaders.
About the author
Xanthe Scharff
Xanthe Scharff is a writer, nonprofit leader, and newsroom founder. She is MD for external affairs and editor at large at The Freedom Fund, and she launched two global nonprofits: The Fuller Project and Advancing Girls’ Education in Africa. Her writing is featured widely, including in The Atlantic, Foreign Policy, Devex, and beyond.
