World has 35.8 million slaves, report finds

NEW YORK. KAZINFORM The second annual edition of the Walk Free Foundation'sGlobal Slavery Index has found that globally, almost 36 million people are subject to modern slavery.
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While incidences of slavery were found in every one of the 167 countries surveyed, five countries -- India, China, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Russia -- accounted for nearly 22 million people (61%) suffering in bondage. The worst offender, India, accounted for an estimated 14.29 million people. Human slavery, the report states, is defined as "human trafficking, forced labor, debt bondage, forced or servile marriage, or commercial sexual exploitation." Surge in cases The report found an increase of 20% on the foundation's findings a year ago, although it attributed the rise to more sophisticated data collection and analysis. "There is an assumption that slavery is an issue from a bygone era. Or that it only exists in countries ravaged by war and poverty," Andrew Forrest, Chairman and Founder of the Walk Free Foundation, said in a statement. "The first step in eradicating slavery is to measure it. And with that critical information, we must all come together -- governments, businesses and civil society -- to finally bring an end to the most severe form of exploitation," CNN reports.

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