Mainstream thinking on human trafficking and modern slavery tends to assume that people who find themselves in situations of exploitation do so primarily because ‘bad guy’ perpetrators coerce them. And while this does happen, research from around the world overwhelmingly demonstrates that individualised coercion is not the major pathway by which people end up in bad work.
Exploited workers – including those labelled by authorities as ‘victims of trafficking’ or as ‘modern slaves’ – typically consent to the work that they do, however abusive or unpleasant, because it represents the best or only option they have of making the money they need. This has been shown in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe and North America.
Which begs the question: if we really want to end ‘modern slavery’, and indeed if we’re serious about protecting people from all forms of exploitation (which the Sustainable Development Goals suggest that at least our politicians claim to be), then why not simply ensure that everyone always has a minimum amount of money in their pocket such that they can say no to bad work?
