FROM BONDAGE TO FREEDOM 1. 17 Economic Vulnerability With globalization, price competition is increasing thereby increasing the demand for cheap labour required for keeping the cost of production low. This has caused a rapid growth of the informal labour sectors such as street vending and of unregulated work in factories. In most instances, workers have become more vulnerable and subject to abusive working conditions, because these marginalized and unregulated areas of work are not visible and thus are not subject to labour laws and regulations. These factors are on the pull side. On the push side, globalization results in breaking down the traditional family structure. Each member of the family has become “a separate and independent unit of labour to be plugged into the modern labour market”39. Further, structural economic changes like break down of rural economy, natural disasters, agro-climatic variation and shrinking employment opportunities drive poor communities with no economic alternatives to leave for areas where their chances might be improved. These migrants are generally at high risk of being trafficked. 2. Gender Vulnerability As the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women puts40, “the root causes of migration and trafficking greatly overlap. The lack of rights afforded to women serves as the primary causative factor at the root of both woman’s migration and trafficking in women. By failing to protect and promote women’s civil, political and social rights Governments create situations in which trafficking flourishes”. The push factors here can be seen in feminization of poverty where majority of poor women are excluded from access to resources, low status of women in society, lack of education for girls, the expectation to perform certain roles and to be solely responsible for children and the discrimination against women in political participation, sexuality, religion, customs and social practices. On the pull side can be seen the traditional sexual division of labour on the one hand, and the growing demand for reproductive services in the globalized market, whereby women and girls are increasingly being pulled as service providers. They service a vast array of personalized reproductive services in the entertainment and sex industry, domestic work and the marriage market.41 39 Supra note 2, p.5. 40 Supra note 30, p. 54. 41 Supra note 2, p.5.