What are involuntary servitude, forced labor, peonage and debt bondage?
A trafficked victim may be subjected to various conditions of modern day slavery such as forced labor, involuntary servitude, debt bondage or peonage. Under U.S. law, a person is placed in conditions of forced labor if they are forced to work against their will through actual or implied threats of serious harm, physical restraint or abuse of the law.2 If the person is forced to work through physical force or threats of physical force, they are victims of involuntary servitude.3 A person is subjected to peonage if that person is compelled by force, threat of force or abuse of the law to work against their will in order to pay off a debt.4 If the value of a person’s work is never reasonably applied towards payment of the debt, the person has been subjected to debt bondage.5 The term “forced labor” is also often used to describe all of these forms of modern day slavery.6 How many people are victims of forced labor and trafficking? The hidden nature of forced labor and trafficking makes it
