A/HRC/54/30 States, between 25 and 40 per cent of all young people experiencing homelessness have become victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation. 53 39. Furthermore, there is a linkage between homelessness and forced, child or sham marriages. While the Special Rapporteur has not seen widespread evidence of girls in street situations being forcibly married, a fear of becoming homeless can sometimes encourage parents to marry off their daughters to receive a bride price in the absence of alternative financial resources. As an example, young girls, many of whom are from the Roma community, in Bosnia and Herzegovina are reportedly sold to other families for financial and other benefits and later experience labour and sexual exploitation.54 There are also instances of women experiencing homelessness who are lured into sham or fake marriages in exchange for financial and other benefits.55 VI. Homelessness as a consequence of contemporary forms of slavery 40. While it is clear that homelessness serves as a cause of contemporary forms of slavery, such practices can also lead to homelessness. In this regard, many of those escaping from labour exploitation,56 domestic servitude,57 sexual exploitation,58 indentured servitude59 and forced or child marriages60 often end up being homeless, as they lack access to essential services and social housing. In Lebanon, it has been reported that many migrant domestic workers have been pushed into homelessness after being mistreated by their employers and/or not receiving sufficient protection by their embassies, in particular during the COVID-19 pandemic.61 It has also emerged that victims of contemporary forms of slavery are abandoned after sexual and labour exploitation.62 Additional difficulties, such as substance abuse and mental and physical health problems, often prevent persons experiencing homelessness from gaining access to decent work. These undoubtedly increase the risk of re-victimization in contemporary forms of slavery. VII. Challenges in protecting persons experiencing homelessness from contemporary forms of slavery 41. The linkage between homelessness and contemporary forms of slavery is undeniable, and there are a number of challenges which must be addressed in order to protect persons experiencing homelessness from being subjected to these practices. An overarching obstacle is ongoing discrimination against them by public authorities and the general public. This leads to a number of practical challenges in promoting their social and economic integration into society. Many persons experiencing homelessness are affected by intersecting forms of discrimination, based on race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, migration status and other factors. 42. To begin with, discrimination hinders access for persons experiencing homelessness to vital services, including health and social care and housing. In some cases, they are explicitly excluded from some services, such as non-contributory social assistance. 63 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 GE.23-12640 UNANIMA International, “The intersection of family homelessness”. Submission from Medica Zenica. Submission from UNODC. Submissions from the European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless and Pourakhi Nepal. Consultation with the Consortium for Street Children and its partners in Africa; and Toybox, “Slavery and the streets: exploring the links between modern slavey and children in street situations” (2018). UNANIMA International, “The intersection of family homelessness”. See GTM 6/2021 and the related OTH 206/2021. Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 21 (2017), para.8; and consultations with stakeholders in Australia. See LBN 1/2020; and submissions from Egna Legna Besidet and Migrant Workers’ Action. Submission from Lawyers for Justice in Libya. A/HRC/44/40/Add.2, para. 22. 9