Why We Should Reconsider the Term “Modern-Day Slavery”
If you’ve been in the anti-trafficking space for a while, you have likely heard human trafficking referred to as “modern-day slavery”. Until recently, we at Dressember have used this phrase in our messaging. This term was first coined by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in 2008. The organization announced at the UN Conference on Trafficking that “two hundred years after the end of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, we have the obligation to fight a crime that has no place in the twenty-first century. Let’s call it what it is: modern slavery” (Source: BBC News 2008).
What’s troubling is that many people and organizations defended slavery in the 16th century up until the 19th century. In fact, the same government that passed the Modern Slavery Act allowed the enslavement of millions of slaves just a few centuries before. Though we understand progress often happens in hindsight, acknowledgment of the atrocities of slavery has not been made on a broad scale. The present-day human trafficking narrative can feel tone-deaf and insensitive to the history of slavery in the past.
Beginning in the 16th century, the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade made it possible for those in power to forcibly remove 18 million people from Africa to work as slaves in Europe and America. Slaves were treated as commodities, regarded as inferior to whites, and bought and sold among landowners, which predominantly included rich white men. African people were often depicted as cannibalistic and savage in European literature and were “degraded into a condition of servitude for life” (in A Different Mirror by Ronald Takaki).
Once the Trans-Atlantic slave trade began, early American settlers reorganized “society on the basis of class and race. By importing and buying more slaves, they could reduce their dependency on an armed white labor force and exploit workers from Africa, who could be denied the right to bear arms because of their race” (Source: Takaki). Slaves were listed as three-fifths of a U.S. citizen in the constitution, which wasn’t removed until the 13th amendment was passed in 1865. Even still, the three-fifths clause cemented in the consciousness of the population the belief that Black people were inferior based solely on the color of their skin. Sadly, this damaging narrative continues to fuel racial discrimination in the United States and beyond today.
In the past, Dressember has used the term “modern-day slavery” in our messaging; however, we have decided to refrain from using this language in the future. It is our goal to be both clear and informative while remaining sensitive to the experiences of people of color. Furthermore, human trafficking statistics report that one of the largest groups impacted by human trafficking is women and children of color. To ignore the link between race and human trafficking would be detrimental to our mission and ignorant of the populations we advocate for.
While human trafficking is a horrific crime, it cannot be compared to the experience of slavery in the 16th - 19th centuries. Slavery was a legal institution in the United States until 1865, while human trafficking is a criminal enterprise, illegal in every country in the world. Slaves were often mistreated and abused legally and publicly, while trafficking victims are often abused behind closed doors. Most would argue that human trafficking should be stopped, but many did not advocate for the end of slavery until the end of the Civil War (a century after many Africans were enslaved to begin with). Slavery and human trafficking are not equal experiences; to use the same term (“slavery”) to describe two separate but equally brutal injustices may not be accurate. There is a glaring discrepancy between the way colonial powers have addressed slavery in the past and present and we must recognize the ways our nations have exploited and oppressed people of color.
“(Child labor trafficking includes) all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale or trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom, or forced or compulsory labor; the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic purposes; the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities; and work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children.”
One distinction worth noting is that labor trafficking does sometimes include enslavement. Forced labor trafficking refers to people who are employed to perform work against their will with some sort of threat motivating them to perform. The U.S Department of Labor defines child labor trafficking as “all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale or trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom, or forced or compulsory labor; the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic purposes; the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities; and work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children.” So while not all trafficking signifies the use of slavery, some forms do. However, according to Impact (an organization against human trafficking and sexual violence in conflict), “a person does not have to be held in ‘slavery’ to qualify as a victim of trafficking, but they do have to have been taken for purposes of exploitation.”
While we remain committed to eradicating human trafficking of all forms—including forced labor—we do not wish to ignore the discrepancy between how history has responded to slavery in the past versus today. Nor can we ignore the link between race and trafficking. In fact, we believe human trafficking is a racial justice issue. Part of our commitment to racial justice is to recognize the ways in which human trafficking differs from slavery. Human trafficking is a horrific injustice, but it has never been legal nor promoted by colonial governments. We do not wish to condemn any organizations still using this terminology; instead, we hope you’ll join us in recognizing the inconsistencies of how slavery has been viewed in the past and present and continuing to stand up against trafficking in all forms.
About the Author
Tori Schaulis, Dressember Communications Manager, is originally from the Midwest, spent her growing up years in the South and ended up in sunny Southern California to start her Masters at Fuller Seminary. She’s currently in pursuit of her M.A. in Intercultural Studies with a focus in Race, Cultural Identity, and Reconciliation. After living abroad twice and working with international students at Baylor University, Tori decided to pursue work where she could use her passion to advocate for others. She is also a certified Cultural Intelligence coach and is passionate about combating bias and challenging systems. You can find her leading workshops in Unconscious Bias and having conversations about social justice and sustainable practices. When she’s not studying or working, Tori enjoys baking (and dancing) in her kitchen, writing, and traveling someplace new.