U.S. among 17 countries that practice forced labor, a form of ‘modern slavery,’ report finds
The Washington Post, May 25, 2023: U.S. among 17 countries that practice forced labor, a form of ‘modern slavery,’ report finds
“The 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the United States in 1865, with one exception: compulsory labor in prisons.
“‘Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States,’ it reads.
“Nearly 160 years later, the United States is one of only 17 countries that still impose compulsory work, according to a report released this week by Walk Free, an Australian human rights organization.
“The category encompasses state-sanctioned forced labor in militaries, fields, factories and prisons. In many U.S. prisons, inmates are compelled to work for far below minimum wage and without other legal protections.
“Under international law, governments can require people to work under certain conditions, such as conscription and states of emergency. But ‘a state exceeds these limits when it compels citizens to work as a punishment for expressing or acting on political views, or for the purpose of economic development, or as a means of racial, ethnic, social, or religious discrimination,’ according to standards summarized in the report.”
Additional reading:
The Nation, March 10, 2023: Exploiting Prison Workers for Cheap Sheets
The Washington Post, January 1, 2023: ‘You’re a slave’: Inside Louisiana’s forced prison labor and a failed overhaul attempt
The Intercept_, December 12, 2022: Incarcerated People Forced to do Dangerous Work for ‘Slave’ Wages at Height of Pandemic
The Atlantic, October 6, 2016: Ava DuVernay’s 13th Reframes American History
