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Malta at risk of modern slavery, study finds
The Modern Slavery Index speculates that Malta's rise in modern slavery risk was driven by the exploitation of migrants
Verisk Maplecroft's Modern Slavery Index outlines Romania, Greece, Italy, Cyprus and Bulgaria as Europe's highest risk for modern slavery
Malta is one of 20 EU member states that has seen a rise in modern slavery risks, according to an annual study from global risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft.
The annual Modern Slavery Index assesses the risk of exposure to practices of slavery, servitude, trafficking in persons and forced labour within business. 198 countries are evaluated based on the strength of their laws and the effectiveness of their enforcement in the study.
Verisk Maplecroft estimates that a significant increase in migrant populations across Malta is a key contributor for increases in slavery across industries such as agriculture, construction and services.
Due to the geographic shift in migrant sea arrivals, the company expects the risk of modern slavery to worsen in Italy and its neighbouring countries.
“Businesses should pay attention when risk assessing their suppliers and the commodities they source,” insists Sam Haynes, Senior Human Rights Analyst at Versik Maplecroft.
