The invisibility of the black population in modern slavery: evidence based on conditions of social vulnerability

Abstract

The aim of this article was to identify the associations between the social conditions of vulnerability and the racial profile of modern slavery. It presents findings from a qualitative research developed between 2011 and 2016 on the institutional and organizational mechanisms responsible for the maintenance of modern slavery in Brazil, based on the theoretical framework of Crane (2013), Bales (2004) and Datta and Bales (2013, 2014). From a methodological point of view, this study makes use of socioeconomic, geographic, sociocultural and social vulnerability indicators produced mainly by the reports published by members of the Institute of the National Pact for Eradicating Slave Labor (InPACTO) and the public sector. The article’s contribution centers on the incorporation of the variable race and color, indicating its relation to modern slavery, in addition to showing how contemporary slave labor coexists with the economically representative productive chains in Brazil, some of which are members of InPACTO.