Using the Capability Approach to understand the causes of modern slavery

The Global Slavery Index (GSI) estimated that in 2016 there were 40.3 million people in modern slavery worldwide (GSI, 2018). Modern slavery is defined as a condition where one person has control over another and
uses that control for purposes of exploitation or profit. That control can be obtained through coercion, deception, abduction or through the abuse of power or taking advantage of a position of vulnerability (UNOHCR, 2000;
ILO, 2017). Modern slavery, forced labour and human trafficking are often used interchangeably (ILO, 2017; Siller, 2016). However, the latter two are actually forms of the former (Anti-Slavery, 2017) and this proposal
will use the term modern slavery to encompass all three. People can enter modern slavery either knowingly or unknowingly, and tackling the problem has become a crucial issue for policy makers today (Kidd & Manthorpe,
2017; Siller, 2016). A Home-Office report released in October 2017 details United Kingdom (UK) policy, termed as their 'response' to modern slavery. Throughout the report there is much focus on prosecuting
traffickers, assisting victims who have already been through the process of modern slavery and strengthening laws to make it more difficult for businesses to engage in the use of modern slaves (HM Government, 2017).
This proposal suggests that this is typical of much of current policy globally, which is focussed on addressing the symptoms of modern slavery with little or no attention given to the root causes. There is little discussion of
what it is that drives people to enter modern slavery in the first instance, or the factors that serve to keep people in a condition of modern slavery once they have entered it. It is argued that this is an omission, that it has led to
a gap in current thinking and a position where policy is reactive rather than proactive. This research will focus on modern slavery in India, with a particular focus on Nepalese migrants currently experiencing modern slavery
within India's borders. It will expand on my previous research by using Sen's (1999) Capability Approach (CA) as a framework to enhance the understanding of modern slavery and its causes.

The CA was developed by economist Amartya Sen during the 1980s, and was perhaps most notably advanced in his 1999 book Development as Freedom (Sen, 1999). Simply put, the CA can be said to be a people centred
measure, placing people themselves at the centre of development allowing them to define what they themselves view as having value in achieving an acceptable standard of living. It is multi-dimensional in nature, allowing us
to look at all aspects of a person's life and how that impacts the choices they are able to make. It is felt that where modern slavery is concerned, the CA can be an incredibly useful tool. By using it as a framework to
analyse modern slavery, current thinking can be significantly advanced in a way that allows us to look at it from the perspective of the modern slave themselves. This can enable us to better understand what it is that drives
people into slavery in the first instance, and then what it is that serves to keep them there. In gaining this understanding, we can develop interventions that better serve to prevent modern slavery occurring, rather than
reacting to it after it has occurred.