Slavery is a modern scourge of shocking proportions. Some 40 million people live in slavery today, according to a report released last month from the U.N. affiliated International Labor Organization (ILO), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the Walk Free Foundation. One in every four slaves is a child. Seven in ten are women. By its very nature, modern slavery operates in the shadows, keeping its victims faceless and uncounted. Even this comprehensive survey is likely conservative.

“Measuring modern slavery is difficult for a few reasons–differing definitions, hidden and difficult to access populations, and the sensitive nature of the information that needs to be collected,” said Jacqueline Joudo Larsen. “These challenges can, and will, be met as collaboration grows between governments, academia, and civil society.”

This collaborative report, “Global Estimates of Modern Slavery” from Alliance 8.7, puts this crisis in the highest resolution ever and outlines steps to reach the ambitious aim set by Sustainable Development Goal 8.7: eradicate slavery by 2025. Modern slavery in this context refers to forced labor, debt bondage, forced marriage, and other forms of slavery and human trafficking.

Read the full article by Zachary Slobig about modern slaves from Skoll