A/HRC/12/21 page 15 their place of origin. A distinction must also be drawn between those people who are under some form of economic compulsion to accept substandard working conditions because they simply have no alternative (exploitation or abuse of vulnerability, but not necessarily forced labour) and those against whom actual coercion is exercised by a third party to force them to undertake a job against their will.21 65. Bonded labour is among the most prevalent means now being used to keep trafficked victims in situations of forced labour.22 66. The advance payment, both in the cases of trafficking in humans and bonded labour, becomes the tool of enslavement and puts the trafficker and creditor in a dominant position. This increases the risk of and opportunity for abuse. Allowing the creditor to adjust interest rates or simply to add interest without informing the “employee” increases the debt owed. In the case of bonded labour these conditions mean that the debtor is unable to repay the loan and remains bonded for an indefinite period. In both trafficking and bonded labour, people are forced to work to repay their debts. Although trafficking and bonded labour have different starting points and different mechanisms of enslavement, they are both forms of slavery. 67. Unlike someone in bonded labour, a person trafficked has a greater chance of eventually being free. This is because almost every country has introduced trafficking programmes and criminal sanctions on trafficking in national legislation. Internationally, more countries are aware of trafficking and are keen to enforce international and national laws. 68. Technically, bonded labourers can end their state of servitude once the debt is repaid. But the fact is that this rarely occurs. Since debtors are often illiterate and lack basic math skills, they are easy prey for moneylenders. A combination of low wages and usurious interest rates make it impossible to repay the initial debt. In many cases the debt increases because the employer deducts payments for equipment and tools or charges fines for faulty work. Sometimes the labour pledged is used to repay the interest on the loan but not the principal. 69. Consequently, a person in bonded labour is bonded potentially throughout his or her life. In many cases the obligation to repay the loan is inherited by the victim’s children, who are born into a life of bonded labour. D. The gender component of forced labour and bonded labour 70. Statistics show that in forced labour for economic exploitation, while women and girls represent the majority (56 per cent) of victims, men and boys nevertheless account for 44 per cent. Different age and gender groups can be found in different sectors, e.g. men are often found in construction work, women in domestic work and children in the carpet industry.23 21 The cost of coercion, op. cit. 22 Ibid. 23 A global alliance against forced labour, op. cit.