Various ways in which people are forced or coerced into working for others in sub-Sahara Africa today, including some linked to historical slavery, are examined in this article, They are categorised according to the types of coercion used and the circumstances in which people enter situations in which they are forced to work for others. Recognising that the idea that involuntary work constitutes an abuse is difficult to apply in a region where both wives and children routinely have no choice but to work for the head of their household, the article categorises cases in three separate tables. Table 1 identifies nine types of coercion used to force people to work for someone other than a member of their own family. Table 2 lists eight ways in which people in Africa enter situations in which they are forced to work for others. Tables 3 categorises the various forms of abusive exploitation reported to be occurring in Africa into eight categories and is followed by examples of some of these. Finally, the articles reviews the terminology used by international organisations for describing these situations and observes that in most of Africa members of the public are not sure what practices should or should not be tolerated.

Forced labour Slavery Servitude Coercion Trafficking

Africa slave poverty forced migration exploitation