About 50 million people globally are living in modern slavery, including a growing number of women who are in forced marriages, new Australian-led research shows. A study, spearheaded by philanthropic foundation Walk Free, found widespread socioeconomic instability linked to climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic had contributed to increasing poverty and forced migration. An estimated 28 million people are in forced labour and 22 million are trapped in forced marriages. The number of people in modern slavery has risen by more than nine million over the past five years.