Slavery is a phenomenon that appears to interfere with neither the daily lives of most people nor with their contemporary worlds.

For many, the term ’slavery’ is reminiscent of black slaves on their journey to America or, perhaps, of slaves in ancient Rome or Greece. And yet, despite the fact that slavery had formally been abolished at the end of the nineteenth century in most countries, it still remains an inherent part of modern life.

In 2023 it still consists of a large group of people. For more than 50 million individuals worldwide, freedom does not exist. People are still being exploited and traded as commodities.

In the first place, this issue concerns people who end up working as slave labour in all economic branches, including clothing, fishing, agriculture, construction, transport and catering industries. This form of slavery has many connections to Western companies and, often, it actually occurs in Western countries. In addition, in all European countries, the sex industry makes abundant use of so-called sex slaves.