20 June 2012

27 million people in slavery

More than half the victims are in India, China and Southeast Asia, the area Clinton visited last month. Most are enslaved by private employers, but millions work the sex trade or are in state-imposed forced labor.

By contrast, 42,000 victims were helped by their governments last year. Fewer than 8,000 prosecutions and fewer than 4,000 convictions resulted — improvements from 2010, but a fraction of the overall problem.