Gender inequality increases the risk of modern slavery for women and girls

Gender-based discrimination begins at birth and continues to affect women throughout their lives, shaping their opportunities and experiences.

Discriminatory laws and social norms create different expectations for daughters and sons, limiting opportunities for women and increasing their vulnerability to exploitation.

At the current rate of progress, achieving full gender parity will take 134 years, according to the World Economic Forum.

This timeline goes 4 generations beyond the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal deadline.

Girls around the world are born into social systems that disadvantage them.

The odds are stacked against them from birth, increasing their risk of abuse and exploitation, including modern slavery.

Women and girls are affected by forced labour, human trafficking, forced marriage, and child marriage.

Factors such as poverty, lack of education, and restricted access to healthcare further increase their vulnerability.

Social norms that undervalue women’s economic contributions often limit their access to education and decent work.

This creates cycles of economic hardship, which can last for generations.

Forced marriage is a form of modern slavery. It refers to any situation where someone, regardless of age, has been forced to marry without consent.

An estimated 22 million people are living in forced marriages worldwide, including 14.9 million women and girls.

This data is drawn from research conducted by Walk Free, the International Labour Organization (ILO), and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Once forced to marry, women and girls face a heightened risk of:

• Sexual exploitation
• Violence
• Domestic servitude
• Forms of forced labour both inside and outside the home

In societies where girls are seen as economic burdens, sex-selective practices reduce birth rates and survival rates for infant girls.

As girls grow, discrimination increases. In many countries, fewer girls attend school or have access to medical care than boys.

Women are more likely to end up in poverty and to work in high-risk, informal sectors where labour laws provide little to no protection.

Over 60 per cent of domestic workers in Asia and the Pacific were excluded from national labour laws, while nearly 85 per cent were employed informally, according to the ILO’s findings from 2021.

International law sets standards for nation-states, outlining rights and obligations to hold governments accountable.

However, in many countries, domestic laws deepen the problem of modern slavery rather than prevent it.

Some laws prevent women from inheriting land, granting citizenship to their children, travelling freely, or working without their husband’s permission.

Others allow rapists to avoid prosecution if they marry their victims.

Several international conventions which are safeguarding human rights for women and girls include:

• Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, 1979
• Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, 1999
• ILO Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189)
• Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages, 1962

The United Nations has recognised gender equality as a necessary accelerator for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG Target 8.7.

This calls for the eradication of forced labour, modern slavery, and human trafficking.

The SDGs have a 2030 deadline, but those related to children, including ending child labour, were set for 2025.

However, the 2025 deadline is unlikely to be met, with 1 in 5 children in the world’s poorest countries still forced to work in 2024, according to the ILO.

Government officials, civil society organisations, and UN agencies continue to discuss challenges in achieving commitments made under Beijing+5, the 2000 Political Declaration that created a platform for action on gender equality.

Achieving gender equality is crucial to eliminating modern slavery.

Addressing the root causes of discrimination, strengthening legal protections, and increasing economic opportunities for women and girls will help break cycles of exploitation and abuse.