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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Annie Kelly

Fifty million people now trapped in modern slavery in a ‘surge of exploitation’

Slavery ILO IOM Walk Free
A woman piles bricks on her head at a brick kiln in Bangladesh
A brick kiln near Dhaka. Debt bondage persists in South Asia, with children often working alongside indentured parents. Photograph: Joy Saha/Zuma/Rex

Fifty million people around the world are trapped in modern slavery, either forced to work against their will or forced into a marriage, according to new global estimates, marking a significant rise over the past five years.

The number of people trapped in forced labour, including sex trafficking, rose to 28 million, with a further 22 million trapped in forced marriage, says a report published on Monday by the International Labour Organization, International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the anti-trafficking human rights group Walk Free.

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