Without identification, vulnerable populations fall victim to modern slavery

A new investigative report reveals strong evidence connecting a lack of documentation to an increased risk of trafficking and modern slavery. As shared on reliefweb, without any official identity documents it is difficult if not impossible for people to access basic support services. According to the evidence, this leads to vulnerable populations being forced into informal, dangerous and exploitative work.

Invisible and locked out of support

An estimated 850 million people globally do not have any legal identity. That means they have no official documents like a passport, divers license or government issued I.D. card. Research done by the United Nations University Center for Policy and Research (UNU-CPR) in collaboration with the Freedom Fund points to this fact as a causal issue for people to become trapped in modern slavery or being trafficked. 

Professor Heaven Crawley, Senior Fellow at UNU-CPR said: 

“Without legal identity, people remain invisible and excluded from basic rights and services. This lack of documentation not only denies them access to healthcare, education and formal employment but also strips away the legal protections needed to escape abuse.”

Lack of access to formal employment means the only work possible is informal and pays extremely low-wages. It also means abuse and exploitation at work often go unreported due to fear of approaching authorities. All of that together can easily lead to modern slavery conditions. The research found the majority of people without an ID are migrants, stateless minorities and those affected by discriminatory nationality laws, frequently in the MENA region, Sub-Saharan Africa, followed by Asia-Pac. 

“No voice, no identity, no way out”

People interviewed for the report said social economic barriers, discrimination and legal barriers prevented them from obtaining an I.D. But even in countries without discriminatory citizenship laws where getting an I.D. should be possible there are barriers. Local-level challenges like bureaucratic inefficiencies and corruption meant often people still couldn’t get an I.D.

Crawly stated:

 “Legal identity is more than a bureaucratic formality, it safeguards people against exploitation. Millions around the world are trapped in cycles of poverty and exploitation simply because they lack official documentation.”

Achieving legal identity for all by 2030 is actually one of the Sustainable Development Goals put forward by the U.N. And the populations most impacted by lacking a legal identity are women, children, rural families and people with low literacy. 

Ester, a Kenyan survivor of modern slavery said :

“When you don’t exist on paper, the system leaves us trapped. We are easy targets for those who want to exploit us because we have no voice, no identity, no way out.”

The report concludes that action from governments around the world is urgently needed to address this challenge. Steps like legislative reforms, community engagement and international cooperation are needed to eliminate this pipeline to modern slavery. 

Ester stated: 

“Governments, civil society and the international community must work together to remove these barriers. We need support that puts our dignity and humanity first. Only then can we hope to break free from this cycle of exploitation and reclaim our lives.”

Freedom United supports the efforts of those working to achieve this Millenium Development Goal and preventing a lack of ID from leading to a life in modern slavery.