1. MODERN SLAVERY: AN OVERVIEW
1. The names of all slaves in this book are pseudonyms. In some cases where discussing precise geographic locations might risk the safety of the interviewee, I have provided an alternate setting. In cases where providing the names or locations of specific organizations or activists helping the slaves might risk their safety, I have refrained from providing these details.
2. Throughout this book, when I share a slave narrative, that narrative was typically spoken to me as part of a conversation in which I asked questions to guide the interview and gather data. I have edited the narratives as minimally as possible to aid with readability.
3. All U.S. dollar values are converted at the exchange rate at the time the case was documented.
4. Aadhaar is a twelve-digit unique identification number provided to each citizen of India under a program managed by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). The Aadhaar is issued upon registration of biometric and demographic data of the recipient. Commenced in 2009, it is deemed to be the largest national identification number project in the world.
5. A sarpanch is the head of a village’s statutory institution of local self-government in India, called a panchayat. The sarpanch is typically elected by members of the village.
6. For thorough explorations of the history and evolution of slavery, see Meltzer (1993), Patterson (1982), Thomas (1999), Klein (1993), and Lewis (1992).
7. Kara (2012), chapter 1.
8. Article 1, League of Nations Slavery Convention, 1926.
10. Article 2(1), International Labour Organisation (ILO) Forced Labour Convention (No. 29), 1930. Three exceptions to the definitions are (1) compulsory military service, (2) prison labor, and (3) certain forms of compulsory labor in cases of emergency or war (Article 2(2)).
13. Forced marriage is defined as a marriage in which one or both parties are betrothed without consent or against his/her will. Article 16 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) states that “marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.” The Appeals Chamber of the Special Court for Sierra Leone was the first international criminal tribunal to recognize forced marriage as a distinct crime (Prosecutor v. Brima, Kamara and Kanu, 2008).
14. The United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), 1979, calls on states to ensure that the betrothal and marriage of children has no legal standing, and its treaty-monitoring committee recommends a minimum marriageable age of eighteen years. Also, the UN Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages (1964) similarly emphasizes consent, a minimum age for marriage, and the registration of all marriages by a competent authority.
15. Defined as any child (under eighteen years of age) associated with an armed force or armed group who is, or who has been, recruited or used by an armed force or armed group in any capacity—including but not limited to children, boys and girls—used as fighters, cooks, porters, spies, or for sexual purposes (Paris Principles on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, 2007).
16. Article 3, United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (2000).
17. Article 3(c) of the Palermo Protocol states that “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation shall be considered ‘trafficking in persons’ even if this does not involve any of the means set forth in subparagraph (a) of this article;” and Article 3(d) defines a “child” as any person under eighteen years of age.
The ILO’s International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (ILO-IPEC) provides further guidance on the definition of “exploitation” as it relates to child trafficking:
(a) all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict (ILO Convention No. 182, Art. 3(a));
(b) the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances (ILO Convention No. 182, Art. 3(b));
(c) the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs as defined in the relevant international treaties (ILO Convention No. 182, Art. 3(c));
(d) work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children (ILO Convention No. 182, Art. 3(d) and Convention No. 138, Art 3);
(e) work done by children below the minimum age for admission to employment (ILO Convention No. 138, Art. 2 & 7).
18. Defined in Article 3(a) of the UN Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air (2000) as “the procurement, in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit, of the illegal entry of a person into a state party of which the person is not a national.”
19. Kara (2012), chapter 1.
20. See Kumar (1965) for an investigation of the links between caste and debt bondage and the role caste has played in the broader evolution of labor relations in India.
21. For a thorough discussion on medieval European feudalism, see Stephenson (1952); for feudal India under the Mughal Empire, see Habib (1963); for the economic and social structure of Tokugawa Japan, see Smith (1959); for more detail on peonage in the American South, see Pete (1990).
22. Article 1(a), United Nations Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, 1956.
23. Article 2, India Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976.
24. Kara (2012), chapter 1.
25. For examples of those who argue debt bondage may not be slavery, see Shultz (1964), Cherney and Srinivasan (1988), Sitglitz (1989), and Genicot (2002).
26. “Other forced labor” captures those cases of slavery for which the person is not trafficked or bonded into the servitude but who meets the definition of forced labor established under ILO Forced Labour Convention (No. 29).
29. Capture-recapture (CR) is a methodology originally used to count and track animal populations. The methodology was later used to estimate the size of hidden or difficult-to-reach human populations, such as homeless people. Four assumptions must be met to generate reliable CR estimates: (1) the population under observation is closed, (2) each of the two captures are independent, (3) all members of the population have the same probability of being captured, and (4) the capture date of each member is accurate.
35. Kara (2009), chapter 1 and appendix A.
38. U.S. dollar valuation for 2016 is based on averages of CPI and GDP deflator adjustments. The GDF deflator was also used because, unlike CPI, it extends beyond consumer goods and services and provides a broader base of comparison for the sale of human beings.
40. ROI measures the benefit to an investor resulting from an investment in an asset of some kind. The standard formula is (gain from investment − cost of investment)/cost of investment.
41. In a university setting, an Institutional Review Board (IRB) is an academic committee that reviews and approves research involving human subjects with the purpose of ensuring that the research is conducted in accordance with legal, institutional, and ethical guidelines.
42. See Acemgolu and Wolitzky (2011) for an economic model demonstrating that enhanced alternative economic opportunities reduce the level of coercion in labor arrangements.
43. Kara (2009), chapter 1.
44. Ibid., chapter 1 and appendix A.
45. Kara (2009), chapter 8; Kara (2012), chapter 8.
2. SEX TRAFFICKING: THE CASE OF NIGERIA
1. Kara (2009), chapter 6.
2. For an interesting exploration of the relationship between corruption and human trafficking in Nigeria, see Agbu (2003).
3. For a thorough account of the history of the Benin Empire, see Malaquais (1998).
4. For more on the Cult of Ayelala and traditional Yoruba beliefs, see Awolalu (1996) and Awolalu (1968).
7. For more information, see Ajibade (2013) and Alaba (2004).
8. Section 214 of the Nigerian Criminal Code.
10. For thorough summaries of Nigeria’s recent political and economic histories, see Sowunmi (2015) and Campbell (2013).
11. For incisive examinations of the evolution and relations between Muslims and Christians in Nigeria, see Boer (2003) and Falola (1998).
12. For more information on West Africa and the trans-Atlantic slave trade, see Ajayi and Uya (2010) and Green (2014).
13. See Kara (2009), chapter 1 and appendixes A and B.
3. LABOR TRAFFICKING: SLAVERY AT YOUR DINING TABLE
1. Statistics mentioned in this paragraph are from the California Department of Food and Agriculture (2016).
2. The H-2A temporary agricultural program allows employers to bring nonimmigrant foreign workers to the United States to perform agricultural labor or services of a temporary or seasonal nature. For seasonal or temporary nonagricultural work, the H-2B visa can be used.
3. For instance, the U.S. Department of State issued 134,368 H-2A visas in 2016, up from 55,384 just five years prior (see https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/Graphs/H%20VisasWorldwide.pdf, retrieved May 2, 2017); however, not every visa that is issued translates into a migrant working in the United States during that fiscal year, and there are also a small number of petitions for extensions of visas granted in the previous year that are not publicly reported.
7. Kara (2012), chapter 5.
8. To learn more about the history of labor in California’s agricultural sector, see McWilliams (2000), Daniel (1982), Vaught (2002), and Griego (1981).
9. As quoted in Calavita (2010).
10. Average hourly wage for workers I documented were calculated as monthly wage, divided by average work days per month of 26, divided by average of 12.5 hours of work per day.
4. ORGAN TRAFFICKING: SOLD FOR PARTS
1. Human trafficking for organ removal refers to the practice of trafficking in people for the purpose of removing their organs, whereas organ trafficking more precisely refers to the illicit traffic in organs separate from the body. These two terms have become interchangeable in common usage because the illicit traffic in organs separate from the body would invariably be preceded by the act of trafficking in a person for the purpose of removing his or her organs.
2. There is limited data on payments for kidneys in India; one study of 305 kidney sellers in the state of Tamil Nadu found that the sellers were paid about one-half to two-thirds of what they were promised, which is higher than the data I collected in North India. See Goyal et al. (2002).
4. Kara (2012), chapter 4.
5. Grameen Bank is a microfinance bank founded in Bangladesh. It began informally in 1976 under the leadership of Professor Muhammad Yunus, who launched a project to study how to design a credit delivery system to the rural poor. In 1983, Grameen Bank was authorized by national legislation as an independent bank. In 2006, the bank and Muhammad Yunus were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
6. BRAC is the largest NGO in the world in terms of employees (over 100,000) and focuses on poverty alleviation in Bangladesh. It was founded by Sir Fazle Hasan Abed in 1972.
9. Gortmaker et al. (1998). Research has shown that families who spend more time speaking with an OPO or other donor organ official prior to brain death of their loved one are up to five times more likely to approve donation; see Siminoff et al. (1995).
11. World Medical Association, “Statement on Human Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation,” Fifty-Second WMA General Assembly, Edinburgh, October 2000.
13. Radcliffe-Richards et al. (1998).
14. Zargooshi (2001) and Scheper-Hughes (2003).
16. Zargooshi (2001a, 2001b).
18. Mironov et al. (2003) and Murphy and Atala (2014).
5. TECHNOLOGY AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING: FRIEND AND FOE
1. Bitcoin is a decentralized virtual currency.
2. See Latonero (2012) and Dixon (2013) for further discussion of these points.
3. Kara (2012), chapter 5.
4. As quoted in Latonero (2011).
10. Kara (2009), chapter 2.
12. Chawki and Wahab (2005).
14. Bitcoin, a decentralized virtual currency, was released as open source software in 2009. Transactions take place between users directly, without an intermediary, and are verified by network nodes and recorded in a publicly distributed ledger called the block chain.
15. Stiglitz (2003); Frieden (2006).
6. DEBT BONDAGE: BEYOND SOUTH ASIA
4. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (2015).
5. For a poignant biography from a former Restavek slave, see Cadet (1998).
6. Kara (2012), chapter 2.
7. For a thorough examination of migration and domestic work in Europe, see Lutz (2008).
10. ILO Domestic Workers Convention (No. 189), Article 1, provides the following definitions:
(a) the term “domestic work” means work performed in or for a household or households;
(b) the term “domestic worker” means any person engaged in domestic work within an employment relationship;
(c) a person who performs domestic work only occasionally or sporadically and not on an occupational basis is not a domestic worker.
13. Daily wage is calculated on an average of 29 days worked per month; hourly wage is calculated on an average of 14 hours worked per day in the cases documented.
14. Construction Intelligence Center (2016).
22. Data from Malaysia Ministry of Human Resources, 2017; and from a data request by the author to the Malaysia Department of Statistics in August 2016.
23. Narayanan and Lai (2005).
26. Humanity United (2013).
27. Daily wage is calculated on an average of 26 days worked per month; hourly wage is calculated on an average of 12.5 hours worked per day in the cases documented.
28. Raymond and Hughes (2001); Bromfield (2016).
30. For more information on domestic sex trafficking of minors in the United States, see Kotrla (2010), Estes and Weiner (2001), Walts (2011), and Deshpande and Nour (2013).
31. Clawson et al. (2006).
32. Kara (2009), chapter 7.
7. GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAINS: BLOOD AND THE SEA
1. For more information on IUU fishing, see Bray (2000).
4. Kara (2009), chapter 6.
6. Morgan and Staples (2006); Sylwester (2014).
8. Pitcher and Cheung (2013).
11. Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS) is a new disease that was first detected in China in 2010 and has since spread throughout Asian shrimp farms. The disease results in up to 100 percent mortality rates of shrimp within 20 to 30 days on farms stocked with infected nauplii.
13. Chantavanich et al. (2016).
19. New (2015) provides an insightful discussion on how current corporate social responsibility practices are inadequate to address slavery in global supply chains, and states that more robust inspection and auditing efforts will be required to do so.
20. Kara (2012), chapter 4.
21. Daily wage is calculated on an average of 29 days worked per month; hourly wage is calculated on an average of 15 hours worked per day in the cases documented.
22. Daily wage is calculated on an average of 27 days worked per month; hourly wage is calculated on an average of 13.5 hours worked per day in the cases documented.
8. A FRAMEWORK TO ERADICATE SLAVERY
1. Kara (2012), chapter 1.
3. For guidance on this point, see the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and UNICEF Guidelines on the Protection of Child Victims of Trafficking (2006).
5. In criminal law, the principle of proportionality suggests that the punishment of an offender should be proportionate to the nature of the crime.
6. A few simplifying assumptions must be made. First, in the formula for the real economic penalty, I have treated the prosecution and conviction probabilities as independent, although several real-world conditions might render them dependent. In either case, the results of the calculations are not materially different. Second, calculating the probability of being prosecuted can be simplified such that each slave in a country represents one criminal act of slavery each year. This will understate the number of criminal acts, but it allows for a more meaningful analysis.
7. Calculated using data from the Ministry of Justice, Court of Justice, and Ministry of Social Development and Human Security in Thailand.
8. Kara (2009), chapter 1.
APPENDIX A: GLOBAL SLAVERY METRICS
1. The global weighted average revenues and profits for each type of slavery were calculated as follows. First, allocations of slaves by type are based on my slavery estimation model. For debt bondage, I created unit economic models for the following industries: South Asia: brick making, tea harvesting, agriculture (rice, wheat, maize, sugar, citrus, legumes, spices), carpet weaving, apparel, fireworks, shrimp and fish aquaculture, construction, gem cutting and polishing, stone breaking, bidi rolling, domestic work, mining (dimensional stones and minerals), leather processing, glass work, commercial sex; East Asia and the Pacific: tea harvesting, construction, domestic work, shrimp and fish aquaculture and processing, commercial sex; Middle East: construction, domestic work, commercial sex; Africa: construction, coffee harvesting, agriculture (potato, wheat, citrus, legumes, spices), conveyance, domestic work, commercial sex; Latin America and the Caribbean: dairy farm, coffee, agriculture (sugar, wheat, citrus, legumes), coal, construction, commercial sex; North America: construction, domestic work, commercial sex. For sex trafficking, the numbers are updated from the unit economic models by country for various types of venue (brothel, massage parlor, street, etc.), a selection of which is included in appendix B of this book (more examples can be found in appendix B of Sex Trafficking). For labor trafficking, I created unit economic models in the following industries: South Asia: brick making, tea harvesting, agriculture (rice, wheat, maize, sugar, citrus, legumes, spices), carpet weaving, apparel, fireworks, shrimp and fish aquaculture, construction, stone breaking, domestic work, mining (dimensional stones and minerals), leather processing, glass work, commercial sex, begging, forced military service, forced marriage; East Asia and the Pacific: tea harvesting, agriculture (rice, sugar, citrus, legumes, spices, palm oil), apparel, construction, domestic work, shrimp and fish aquaculture and processing, begging, manufacturing, forced military service, forced marriage; Middle East: construction, manufacturing, domestic work, camel jockey; Africa: construction, coffee harvesting, agriculture (potato, wheat, citrus, spices), conveyance, begging, forced military service; Latin America and the Caribbean: dairy farm, coffee, agriculture (sugar, wheat, citrus, legumes), coal, construction; West Europe: apparel, domestic work, manufacturing, begging, forced marriage; Central and East Europe: apparel, domestic work, manufacturing, begging, forced marriage; North America: agriculture (potato, wheat, citrus), apparel, domestic work, forced marriage. For other forced labor, the industries of exploitation are the same as labor trafficking, with the addition of allocations in each region for commercial sex, as well as bidi rolling, gem cutting and polishing, and additional categories of carpet weaving in South Asia.
2. One could allocate a portion of the costs of the upkeep of the female slave who gave birth to the new slave as the cost of acquisition, but this value would not be a significant number, especially after it is amortized across other revenues.
3. Two finance concepts must be considered when multiplying monthly recurring contribution by the average duration of enslavement: the time value of money and the risk of future cash flows. The time value of money accounts for the fact that a dollar today is worth more than a dollar a year from now, primarily because of inflation. The risk of future cash flows is the risk that the exploiter will not possess the slave for as long as expected. Theoretically, the global weighted average duration of exploitation encapsulates these risks, but to be conservative, the slave owner’s likelihood of achieving the average duration of enslavement can still be discounted. This discount rate is applied when calculating the operating exploitation value to depreciate the value of future cash flows in relation to the time value of money and the risk of future cash flows. Most models used to calculate discount rates include applying a country’s inflation rate to capture the time value of money as well as a risk premium on future cash flows. I have applied hefty discount rates of 25 percent to all countries covered in this book.
