What is debt bondage?

Debt bondage is a form of modern slavery where people are compelled to work in order to repay a debt. They often have no control over their conditions of work and their debt may increase over time, making it impossible to repay. Workers may be misled about the terms of employment, their rights, the safety of their work environment, or the nature of the debt itself.

For example, in the context of child labor in chocolate farming, some children are presented with opportunities to work under the pretense that it pays well and will support their families. However, they often find themselves in exploitative situations where they are effectively sold into labor, their incurred debts are manipulated to keep them working indefinitely, and they lose contact with their families, leaving them isolated and unable to leave [1 ].