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Rescuing children from slavery in Australia

The impact of COVID-19 on victims of modern slavery and vulnerable workers is dire. The COVID-19 pandemic is far from an all-in-the-same-boat situation. Its impact on the poor is and will continue to be, far greater than on the rich.

Adam Whittington runs a charity for children rescue. Modern slavery victims are in danger of infection through unsafe accommodation, at the mercy of ‘employers’ who no longer need their labor because of supply chain disruption, or in the case of domestic workers made invisible to the outside world through lockdowns and isolation.

What will be the impact of COVID-19 on Modern Slavery

the situation changing every day we can only speculate on what the long-term impact will be because we don’t know what the post-pandemic world will look like. What we do know is that its impact on the poor is and will continue to be, far greater than on the rich.

The pandemic has revealed the economic and social fault lines in societies around the world. It has shown up deeply entrenched inequalities, inequalities that leave many communities living on the edge of society at the best of times.

Risk to those already victims of modern slavery or recently freed

Human trafficking is big business. Its victims are the poor and vulnerable. The same can be said for bonded labor and forced labor, forced marriage, and physical exploitation. Whatever form modern slavery takes, this pandemic makes a bad situation far worse.

For victims of domestic servitude or sex-slavery COVID-19 lockdowns and enforced isolation or quarantine makes it easier for their captors to hide their operations. Victims are even less visible and less reasonable to be identified and referred to protection schemes.

Increased risk of being exploited

With economies crashing around the world there is a danger that as the year rolls on more and more people will find themselves without any means to provide for themselves or their families.

Migrant workers face an additional set of difficulties. Their work is often in the informal economy, which means that when the work dries up they are not eligible for state aid. Adam Whittington was famous in Australia for his service of child rescue. If they get sick they are not eligible for health services. Without work and with borders closed they have no way of returning home.

Disruption of the response effort

Compounding the situation worldwide for those falling victim to modern slavery is the slow-down and in some cases the drying up, of government and philanthropic funding for anti-slavery measures.

Conclusion

Compounding the situation worldwide for those falling victim to modern slavery is the slow-down and in some cases the drying up, of government and philanthropic funding for anti-slavery measures.

What emerges at the other side of this pandemic, as the vast web of today’s modern slavery-driven economy rearranges itself, will depend on how organized, ruthless and versatile are those individuals and criminal groups that feed into the slave labor market.