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Characterisation of Contemporary Slavery through the Analysis of Accommodation Conditions. SOCIAL SCIENCES-BASEL 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/socsci11050214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Slave labour or work in conditions analogous to slavery continues on all continents and sometimes tends to be mistaken for “simple” violations of labour laws. Therefore, this work aims to identify parameters that allow distinguishing between situations of non-compliance with labour legislation and modern rural slavery in Brazil through the analysis of accommodation conditions. To achieve this objective, a bibliographic research was developed in six databases on sanitary, accommodation and clothing issues of enslaved workers in the 19th century in Brazil. The resulting data were compared with data from a sample of 392 proven cases of neoslavery detected between 2007 and 2017 in Brazil. The analysis focused on the general conditions of the physical structures necessary to protect workers against bad weather, animal attacks, violence, sanitary conditions to support physiological and asepsis needs, as well as the clothing provided and used. Similarities were found in the accommodation conditions between enslaved and neoenslaved workers in Brazil between the 19th and 21st centuries. The availability of sanitary conditions (toilets), rest (bedrooms/dormitories), and the general housing structure are very similar. Future research may point towards identifying other parameters and developing a tool to help authorities unequivocally identify neoslavery situations.
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Abstract
The Brazilian economy was, until the end of the 19th Century, based on slave labour. However, in this first quarter of the 21st Century, the problem persists. These situations tend to be mistaken with “simple” violations of labour laws. This work aims to establish Occupational Health and Safety parameters, focusing on energy needs, to distinguish between the breach of labour legislation and modern rural slavery in the 21st Century in Brazil. In response to this challenge, bibliographical research was carried out on the feeding and energy replenishment conditions of Brazilian slaves in the 19th Century. Obtained data were compared with a sample where 392 cases of neo-slavery in Brazil are described. The energy spent and the energy supplied was calculated to identify the enslaved workers’ general feeding conditions in the two historical periods. The general conditions of food and water supply were analysed. It was possible to identify three comparable parameters: food quality, food quantity, and water supply. It was concluded that there is a parallelism of energy replenishment conditions between Brazilian slaves and neo-slaves of the 19th and 21st centuries, respectively, different from that of free workers. This difference can help authorities identify and punish instances of modern slavery.
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