
The number of modern slavery victims in global supply chains today is believed to stand at around
16 million1
, roughly the same number of enslaved people as during the transatlantic slave trade in the
18th century2
. While this statistic alone is suggestive of a dire reality, it does not include other human
and labour rights abuses experienced by many around the world: child labour, exploitative and unsafe
work conditions, poverty due to poor wages and suppression of unionisation.