The state of modern slavery is worse than you thought
![Over 50 million people are affected by modern slavery worldwide](https://assets.weforum.org/article/image/large_2YTaiNy2VecQljbTK5Hd4R5n1lZ00jtD0Ac5YP4XfVA.jpg)
Over 50 million people are affected by modern slavery worldwide
Image: Flickr/World Economic Forum/Ciaran McCrickard
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Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking
- Over 50 million people are affected by modern slavery worldwide, with forced labour generating $236 billion in illegal profits annually.
- More cohesive data sharing strategies and the leveraging of technology can help detect patterns and protect victims of human trafficking.
- This article was first published in The Telegraph, read it here.
Modern slavery is one of the most pervasive crises of our time. Affecting over 50 million individuals worldwide, according to estimates by the Global Slavery Index, this issue cuts across industries and nations, feeding into systemic vulnerabilities.
According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), forced labour alone generates $236 billion in illegal profits annually, diverting resources from legitimate economies and burdening public institutions with immense costs – up to $250,000 per victim in law enforcement, healthcare and victim support.
While international law, enshrined in treaties like the ILO Forced Labour Convention and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 8.7), unequivocally condemns forced labour, modern slavery continues to grow in scale and complexity. This systemic failure is compounded by global crises – poverty, migration, weak governance, geopolitical conflicts and, increasingly, climate change.
Climate-related displacement affected over 23.7 million people in 2021 alone, pushing many into exploitation and trafficking. The persistence of modern slavery reveals the limitations of current approaches and prominence of the issue on global and national agendas.
At the United Nations in 2017, the Call to Action to End Modern Slavery was launched – over 90 countries signed the call to eradicate what is the greatest human rights issue. But in recent years the issue has slipped down the political agenda. To effectively address this crisis, momentum must be restored and we need to review the policies, industries and practices that sustain it.
The Global Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking is committed to accelerating momentum on this crisis, complementing and amplifying existing international collaborations on modern slavery and human trafficking. The commission’s key pillars focus on forced labour in supply chains, effective national implementation by states of their international commitments and more effective civil society engagement in crisis contexts.
This is vital as tackling modern slavery demands a comprehensive, cross-sectoral approach that disrupts the systems of slavedrivers. One key element of a cross-sectoral approach is how we use data. Efforts to gather and utilize data on modern slavery exist, with great initiatives like the Responsible Business Alliance’s audit-sharing platform, Stop the Traffik’s Traffik Analysis Hub, and the Institute for Human Rights and Business’s data on corporate recruitment policies.
Governments have also developed frameworks including labour registries and performance assessments. However, modern slavery operates across fragmented data systems, where law enforcement, NGOs, businesses and governments each collect information often in isolation. Tech Against Trafficking categorizes this into three distinct “universes”: corporate, civil society and public sector data.
For businesses, the focus remains on compliance and risk management, which leaves vulnerabilities in supply chains where exploitation is deeply entrenched. This fragmentation across different sectors and types of data creates signifficant barriers to identifying trends, hotspots and emerging risks related to modern slavery.
The lack of interoperability prevents key stakeholders from sharing insights and taking coordinated action. As a result, there is a critical need for a more united and integrated data-sharing approach across these sectors, enabling targeted interventions and improving the effectiveness of efforts to combat modern slavery.
When data is shared and analysed collectively, it becomes a powerful tool for driving more impactful and informed action on a global scale. Addressing modern slavery requires a coordinated, multi-faceted approach that goes beyond isolated actions by individual stakeholders.
The persistence of modern slavery reveals the limitations of current approaches and prominence of the issue on global and national agendas.
”The new Global Data Partnership Against Forced Labour launched by the World Economic Forum at the Annual Meeting 2025 aims to be a catalyst in this effort by breaking down data silos and fostering collaboration across sectors. The partnership brings together leaders from business, government and civil society with the goal of bridging critical data gaps and driving coordinated action to disrupt the systemic vulnerabilities fuelling forced labour.
By aligning data, policy, technology and corporate accountability, this initiative seeks to ensure that modern slavery becomes an embedded priority in global supply chains, underpinned by strong legislation, good governance and actionable insights.
Through these collective efforts, the partnership strives to set a collective culture for tackling forced labour, with an emphasis on creating lasting, systemic change across industries and regions.
When we have the data, tools like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and blockchain can transform analysis and enable the identification of hidden patterns of exploitation. AI, for instance, can process vast amounts of multilingual, unstructured data, spotting trends and risks that would otherwise go undetected.
Mobile apps and AI-driven chatbots are increasingly vital in discreetly connecting victims with support services, especially in areas with limited traditional resources. Blockchain technology also protects victims by securing digital identities, preventing traffickers from confiscating documents and ensuring access to services in high-risk environments.
These technologies can support both the disruption of trafficking networks and the protection of victims. By establishing a data partnership and leveraging these innovations, we can create new tools for disrupting trafficking and improving victim support, ensuring that modern slavery is addressed from both a preventative and reactive standpoint.
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