fact sheet Slavery past and present Right: Slaves being forced below What is Anti-Slavery International? deck. Despite the fact that many slaves were chained for the voyage it The first organised anti-slavery is estimated that a rebellion occurred societies appeared in Britain in the on one out of every eight slave ships 1780s with the objective of ending that crossed the Atlantic. the slave trade. For many people, this is the image In 1807 the British slave trade was that comes to mind when they hear abolished by Parliament and it the word slavery. We think of the became illegal to buy and sell buying and selling of people, their slaves although people could shipment from one continent to still own them. In 1833 Parliament another and the abolition of the finally abolished slavery itself, trade in the early 1800s. Even if we both in Britain and throughout know little about the slave trade, the British Empire. we think of it as part of our history rather than our present. In 1839 the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society was created, In fact, the slave trade continues to representing a new organisation for have an impact today. Its legacies the new chapter of the anti-slavery include racism, discrimination Mary Prince struggle. It gave inspiration to the and the development and under- abolitionist movement in the United development of communities and “Oh the horrors of slavery! - States and Brazil, and contributed countries affected by the trade. How the thought of it pains my to the drawing up of international And slavery itself is not a thing of heart! But the truth ought to standards on slavery. the past. Millions of women, children be told of it; and what my eyes and men around the world are have seen I think it is my duty Anti-Slavery International, as it trapped in slavery, today. to relate; for few people in is known today, continues to work England know what slavery is. for an end to all forms of slavery Hasn’t slavery been abolished? throughout the world and is the I have been a slave - I have felt leading organisation in this field. what a slave feels, and I know Officially, yes. Today, under international law slavery is what a slave knows; and I illegal. In practice, women from would have all the good people in England know it too…” Eastern Europe are bonded into ‘No one shall be held in slavery or prostitution, children are servitude; slavery and the slave trafficked between West African Mary Prince, the first black woman to escape British slavery in the trade shall be prohibited in all countries and men are forced their forms.’ to work as slaves on Brazilian West Indies and publish an autobiography, The History of agricultural estates. These people Article 4. are enslaved because existing laws Mary Prince, A West Indian Universal Declaration of Human are not properly enforced. Slave, related by herself, 1831 Rights, 1948 Anti-Slavery International, Thomas Clarkson House, The Stableyard, Broomgrove Road, London SW9 9TL Tel: +44 (0)20 7501 8920 Fax: + (0)20 7738 4110 email: [email protected] www.antislavery.org Slavery past and present Right: "Slavery… I didn't know about all these forms that existed. Bonded labour in the I think it's largely because we aren't expecting it. It is brick kiln industry, hidden. Generally people Punjab, India. would not believe that it is possible under modern Whole families are conditions. They would say expected to work long 'No I think you are making hours sometimes night it all up', because it's just and day for their landlords. too incredible." Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Hull, United Kingdom freedom from slavery is a fundamental human right So, what is What types of Bonded labour slavery? slavery exist today? A person becomes bonded when their labour is demanded as the means of Today a slave has one repayment for a loan or an advance. Forced labour Once in debt they lose all control over or more of the following their conditions of work and what, if characteristics: Forced labour is any work or service anything, they get paid. Their debt is which people are made to do against then inflated (e.g. through charges for n forced to work, their will under the threat of some food, transport, interest on the loans, through mental or form of punishment. etc.) often making it impossible to physical threat repay and trapping them in a cycle Descent-based slavery of debt. n controlled by an Some people are compelled to work Worst forms of child labour ‘employer’, under the for others or treated as if they were threat of some form owned by another person simply Around 180 million children are in the of punishment because of their caste or ethnic group. worst forms of child labour. Of these some eight million are living in n dehumanised, treated Trafficking conditions which constitute slavery. as a commodity or These are called the unconditional bought and sold as Human trafficking is the movement of worst forms of child labour and in ‘property’ people from one place to another include situations where children are using violence, coercion or deception sold, bonded, trafficked, subjected to commercial sexual exploitation, n physically constrained for the purpose of forced labour or sexual exploitation. recruited into armed conflicts and or has restrictions forced to work as domestic workers placed on their or in a variety of other industries. freedom of movement Anti-Slavery International is committed to eliminating slavery. You can join the fight for freedom at www.antislavery.org Anti-Slavery International, Thomas Clarkson House, The Stableyard, Broomgrove Road, London SW9 9TL Tel: +44 (0)20 7501 8920 Fax: + (0)20 7738 4110 email: [email protected] www.antislavery.org.