Modern slavery may be a much larger problem than recently estimated.
In its inaugural Global Slavery Index, released Thursday, the Walk Free Foundation revealed that more than 29 million people around the world are living in slavery. That’s higher than the U.S. State Department’s estimate of 27 million and well above the International Labor Organization’s estimate of 21 million.
“It would be comforting to think that slavery is a relic of history, but it remains a scar on humanity on every continent,” Walk Free CEO Nick Grono said in a statement provided to The Huffington Post. The organization, launched in 2012, seeks to end modern slavery by spreading awareness about the prevalence of slavery practices and what governments are doing (or failing to do) to stop those practices.
