In the last quarter of 2022, twenty-seven families were freed from generational bonded labor through the efforts of a JVI Justice Hub in northern India. For three generations, these families – 121 people total – had been held in agricultural bonded labor, a form of modern slavery where victims are forced to work in fields.
Justice Hub investigators discovered these families were working without pay and surviving on small quantities of rice. They registered the case with the National Human Rights Commission and working with district authorities, the labor department, and police, were able to bring these families out of generational slavery. For decades, these families had suffered exploitation largely due to caste discrimination. This influence imbalance created extreme social and economic vulnerability, resulting in exploitation that deprived these families of the opportunity to secure basic human rights.
JVI’s Justice Hubs are designed to build vibrant partnerships to fight modern slavery. Core problems such as caste discrimination can only be tackled in coordination with community stakeholders willing to work together in partnership to take a stand against this extreme injustice. It is a joy to see these families now free and able to flourish.
*Photo is for representation purposes only
