Background

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In May 2023, Walk Free published the fifth edition of the Global Slavery Index, the world’s most comprehensive dataset on modern slavery. The Global Slavery Index presents a detailed picture of modern slavery as it exists across industries and countries today. It also indicates the actions governments are taking to combat modern slavery and the risks that populations face around the world.

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The Global Slavery Index is a tool for citizens, civil society, businesses, and governments to understand the scale of the problem, existing responses, and contributing factors so that they can advocate for and build sound policies to address modern slavery.

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About the session

 

This 90 minute event will be divided into two insightful sessions. During the first half, Walk Free will present the key findings from the recently launched 2023 Global Slavery Index. The presentation will provide an overview of the extent and nature of modern slavery in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the primary drivers and actions governments are taking to respond. The session will spotlight risks within key industries and feature a worker advocate to provide further context from their experience.

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The second half of the session will follow an interactive ‘shift and share’ format, where participants can engage in greater detail on topics of their choosing, selecting from the following focus areas:

• Investing in exploitation: Find out how investors are exposed to modern slavery and what the sector can do to address it.

• Importing risk: Understand where businesses are connected to modern slavery through their supply chains.

• Compounding crises (Climate, conflict, COVID-19 & consumers): Engage with the global and regional trends shaping modern slavery.

• Methodology deep dive: Discover how Walk Free measures modern slavery.

• Leveraging our data: Learn how your organisation can access and make use of our tools.

 

Objectives

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The main objectives of this session are to:

• Share Walk Free’s most recent modern slavery research with peers and stakeholders in the Asia-Pacific.This includes providing an overview of our key findings, messages and methodology.

• Highlight the central importance of survivor leadership.

• Feature positive examples of businesses and investors moving from commitment to action.

• Highlight assets, including an online data exploration tool, that can be used by civil society, businesses, and policymakers to support their work.

 

Organizers