Global Slavery Index : Tackling Modern Slavery in India for UPSC- India has been unedergoing a remarkable ‘triple transition’, where economic growth is both driving and is being driven by the rapid socio-political changes. Notwithstanding these remarkable changes and give India’s more than 1.3 billion population, there are still at least 270 million people living on less than US$1.90 per day. While laws, systems and attitudes regarding key ‘fault lines’ including the caste system, gender and feudalism are rapidly changing, social changes on these scores definitely takes time. In this context, it is perhaps not surprising that existing research suggests that all forms of modern slavery continue to exist in India, including inter-generational bonded labour, forced child labour, commercial sexual exploitation, forced begging, forced recruitment into non-state armed groups and forced marriage.
Global Slavery Index : Tackling Modern Slavery in India
India has been unedergoing a
remarkable ‘triple transition’, where economic growth is both driving and is
being driven by the rapid socio-political changes. Notwithstanding these remarkable changes and give
India’s more than 1.3 billion population, there are still at least 270 million
people living on less than US$1.90 per day. While laws, systems and attitudes
regarding key ‘fault lines’ including the caste system, gender and feudalism
are rapidly changing, social changes on these scores definitely takes time. In
this context, it is perhaps not surprising that existing research suggests that
all forms of modern slavery continue to exist in India, including inter-generational
bonded labour, forced child labour, commercial sexual exploitation, forced
begging, forced recruitment into non-state armed groups and forced marriage.
According to
the 2016 Global Slavery Index, released by Australia-based Walk Free Foundation
recently, an estimated 45.8 million people, including women and children, are
subject to one or the other form of modern slavery in the world, compared to
35.8 million in 2014. Unlike historical slavery in which people were held as
legal property, a practice universally outlawed now, modern slavery generally
subsumes human trafficking, forced labour, bondage from indebtedness, forced,
servile marriage or commercial sexual exploitation. Modern slavery refers to
situations of exploitation that a person cannot leave because of threats,
violence, coercion and abuse of power or deception.
With 18.35
million victims of forced labour, India has the dubious distinction of having
the highest number of people trapped in modern slavery. India tops the world
slavery index with over 40 per cent of the total people in slavery in the top
ten economies of the world. In terms of absolute numbers, India is followed by
China [3.39 million], Pakistan [2.13 million], Bangladesh [1.53 million], and
Uzbekistan, [1.23 million]. These five countries together account for nearly 58
per cent of the world’s enslaved. Incidences of slavery were found in all 167
countries in the index, with the above Asian countries occupying the top five
places.
The countries
with the lowest estimated prevalence of modern slavery by the proportion of
their population are Luxembourg, Ireland, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland,
Austria, Sweden and Belgium, the United States, Canada, Australia and New
Zealand. These countries generally have more economic wealth, core higher on
government response, have low levels of conflict, and are politically stable
with a willingness to combat modern slavery.
The sectors
engaging the highest number of modern slaves in India as indicated in the said
survey include domestic work, bonded labour, prostitution, human trafficking,
forced marriage, the construction and commercial sex industries, agriculture,
forced recruitment in armed violence, fishing, manufacturing, manual labour,
and forced begging. While India is home to more enslaved people than any other
country, the Walk Free Foundation report said it had made “significant
progress” in measures to address the problem. India has criminalised
human trafficking, slavery, forced labour, child prostitution and forced
marriage while also regulating child labour and domestic work.
The Global Slavery Index has based its survey findings
on three main areas of measurement including prevalence of slavery, the
strength of a government’s response in battling and preventing slavery, and
vulnerability of the country’s citizens of modern slavery. However, the survey
methodology as followed has been questioned by experts.
A major drawback of the Index is the extrapolation
process used to estimate the number of those enslaved. Since 2014, survey
questions based on the possible occurrence of forced labour have been
incorporated into Gallup’s World Poll, but only in 25 countries [and seven of
those countries’ estimates reflect survey data from 2014]. Survey data is then
extrapolated to the remaining 139 countries, which are now grouped into twelve
clusters [the number of clusters have doubled since 2014]
The extrapolation process also uses secondary source
data, taking into account additional factors such as state-sanctioned forced
labour and conflict. Even without an extensive background on the prevalence of
forced labour, it would be easy to see the flaws and implications this method
poses. For example, according to the index, Japan is ranked only one slot below
Yemen for the absolute number of those in modern slavery despite their
drastically different total populations. Anyone with even a basic knowledge of
the economic and political climate of these two countries would question be
validity of this assertion. Clustering countries together based on such limited
primary data creates false representation of the actual state of modern day
slavery in many countries. And publicising such data that is not accurate could
in turn distort vital policy decisions, law enforcement efforts, data budgetary
allocations.
The year-on-year estimates are also found questionable.
In 2014, the total number of those estimated to be enslaved was roughly 36
million. In 2016, that number has been estimated to be 45.8 million. Has the
number of those enslaved globally actually risen or should we attribute this
increase to a larger sample size? Either way, there is no mention of past
years’ results or analysis to assess the rise or fall in numerous year to year.
Another area of major concern has been the manner in which
the primary data was collected. Most notably, the sample size was extremely
small. In the 25 countries where surveys have been administrated, roughly 1000
random families were sampled in each country [with the exception of Russia and
India, with 2000 and 3000 families, respectively]. In Pakistan, where the
population is roughly 182 million, the representative sample amounts to 0.00001
percent of citizens. This arguably is too small for a sample to be
representative.
Again, the target population of the surveys was those
aged 15 and older, leaving out a large portion of child and teenage victims. In
addition, the surveys were primarily conducted in source countries in hopes
that upon return migrant workers would be free to speak about their
experiences. Arguably, household surveys in developed countries may not reveal
the same kind of vulnerabilities as those countries with a large migrant
population.
Yet, this strategy again omits major populations of
vulnerable people in destination countries [countries that people are
trafficked or migrate to] who may actually be the best and most current
representative sample. Furthermore, it assumes the ‘developed’ world has less
of a slavery problem than ‘undeveloped’ or ‘developing’ source countries. In
fact, there have been many reports of ‘sweet shops’ in some of the developed
countries with very unedifying working conditions.
All said and done, the Global Slavery Index provides a
basis to assess the problem of forced labour and modern day slavery. It has
garnered attention of policy makers from across the world. There is no doubt
the Index team of researchers worked diligently and effortlessly on producing
and improving upon a detailed methodology for bringing out the phenomenon of
modern slavery to the fore. The catch, however, lies in publicising data which
is not grounded in validated research and may contribute to a misguided
approach of tackling the problem of modern day slavery.
The results do provide insight into the pervasive
exploitation of people throughout the world and focuses much-needed spotlight
to the problem. It has engaged governments by assessing their responses, and
could be a tool in holding our leaders accountable for taking action to fix the
problem of modern slavery. One is sure that the policy makers across the world
including India would sit up and take notice to make positive interventions to
reduce the incidence of modern slavery.
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