Modern Slavery News Round-Up

Elders work to confront child marriage
Working to bring an end to child marriages is a key focus area for Nelson Mandela, Mary Robinson and The Elders. The group of senior diplomats is endorsing community-level education efforts and engaging males in conversations on ending a practice that affects 10 million young girls every year.


Vietnam province launches child-marriage awareness campaign
The provincial authority of Long An has issued an instruction to fight against child marriage in the province. The instruction was made after many marriages at an early age were reported in the province’s remote areas and districts with industrial zones, such as Tan Hung, Duc Hue, Moc Hoa, Duc Hoa and Ben Luc. To prevent child marriage, Long An People’s Committee has assigned the Department of Justice to better educate residents about marriage law. The Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs was asked to conduct a survey on causes of early marriages and to map out policies on vocational training for young people who may be involved in child marriages so they could more easily find jobs.

Revulsion over Nigeria rape video shows power of social media

In Nigeria, rape video depicting an apparent gang attack on a woman by college students sparks a criminal investigation, and raises questions of how much smartphones have changed Nigerian society. On Sept. 17, a popular Nigerian blogger named Linda Ikeji wrote that she was in possession of an hour-long tape of five students from Abia State University gang-raping a young woman. Ms. Ikeji is a widely followed and popular writer known for her accurate celebrity gossip and entertainment reporting. Her claim to be in possession of such a tape drew immediate attention.