There are many different types of experiences that fall under the umbrella of ‘modern slavery’.
In Australia, some states have laws about modern slavery offences, but mostly these crimes are covered in federal laws. They can include the following:
Click on each one for an in-depth definition.
Modern Slavery involves one person treating another as if they owned them.
It removes a person’s agency and choice about their own life.
Forced marriage is when one or both people are pressured into a marriage against their will.
This can involve physical or emotional coercion, threats, or deception.
The people being forced to marry may be adults or children, and may be coerced by their families, communities, or other parties.
Forced labour refers to situations where someone is made to work through the use of force, fraud or coercion.
This can include physical violence or threats, as well as psychological or emotional coercion.
Forced labour is typically associated with labour exploitation, and it can occur in a range of industries, including agriculture, mining, construction, and domestic work, among others.
The International Labour Organisation has developed resources to help people identify forced labour with 11 indicators.
Servitude is similar to the definition of forced labour, but is when someone believes they are not free to leave a situation in which they are forced to work or provide services.
Servitude can involve the use of psychological or emotional control, as well as physical violence or threats.
Sexual servitude refers to a form of modern slavery where someone is forced, coerced, or deceived into providing sexual services. This can include any form of commercial sex work (full service, massage, online etc).
Sexual servitude can involve physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, as well as the threat of harm to a person or their loved ones if they attempt to escape or stop working.
Deceptive recruitment is when someone tricks or recruits you for work under false pretences. Often, they promise high-paying jobs, good working conditions, or other benefits that turn out to be lies.
When someone is forced to work to pay off a debt without defining how to repay it. It is often difficult or even impossible to repay the debt in a way that is fair and/or reasonable.
The debt doesn’t even have to be real, but the person is made to believe that it is.
The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receiving of people by using force, fraud, or coercion in order to exploit them.
This is when a person is threatened, coerced, or forced to leave Australia.
Organ trafficking is the illegal trade of human organs, usually for transplants.
Organs are removed from living or deceased people without their consent, or with the consent obtained by coercion, deception, or other illegal means. The organs are then sold on the black market to patients in need of organ transplants, often at exorbitant prices.
Some types of child sexual exploitation and the most serious forms of child labour are considered modern slavery.
Examples can include:
