Blog
Between Neglect and Exploitation: Modern Slavery in Peru
A recent study on modern slavery in Peru conducted by Free the Slaves and ONOTZI in the Peruvian Amazon’s regions of Ucayali and Huánuco uncovers the harsh realities of four Indigenous communities.
Freedom from Slavery Forum Ambassadorship
My name is Grace Kalekye, and I am a passionate advocate against Human Trafficking and Modern-Day Slavery. In 2022, I had the honor of being elected as the most impactful Survivor Advocate by the Elkes Impact Award and Free the Slaves. I was recognized for exposing...
Insights from the 2023 Freedom from Slavery Asia Regional Forum
Aiming to unify efforts towards combatting modern slavery, Free the Slaves has been establishing partners throughout the regions. As part of collaborating with similar-minded organizations, Free the Slaves organizes the Freedom from Slavery Forum, which aims to...
Get Involved
Freedom from Slavery Forum Begins Regional Convenings
The Freedom from Slavery Forum is pioneering new ground this year as the anti-slavery movement’s premiere thought-leadership convening. For the past eight years, the Forum has been a collegial space for anti-slavery leaders from around the world to coalesce, create...
Joint Statement and Call to Action on the Crisis in Haiti
In response to the crisis in Haiti, which has deepened in the wake of the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, we, the undersigned individuals and organizations, express our condolences and sympathy to all of the Haitian families that have lost a loved one to the...
FTS Joins Global Push to End Child Labor
Saturday, June 12 is the U.N. World Day Against Child Labor, and this year takes on special importaance because 2021 is the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labor. Organizations around the globe, including Free the Slaves, have pledged to create special...
Our Work
Understanding the Modern Slavery Landscape of the Middle East and North Africa
Women, children, migrants, refugees, and other minorities are especially vulnerable to human rights violations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). This vulnerability is magnified by a wide range of factors, including economic instability, conflict, climate...
Fair Food: Who Picked Your Produce?
Editor’s Note: This guest blog from a Free the Slaves advocacy partner in the Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking highlights how a key program to fight modern slavery in American agriculture has moved from a theory of change to a proven solution. The Coalition of...
Cutting the Long-term Costs of COVID-19: Building Resilience Against Exploitation in Senegal and Kenya
To date, the cost of the global COVID-19 pandemic has most frequently been measured in lives lost and the cost to domestic economies, while triumphs have often been charted in terms of vaccine roll-outs and partial or full returns to the ‘freedoms’ outside lockdown. ...
News
Grassroots Advocacy Continues via Zoom
The COVID-19 global pandemic has disrupted anti-trafficking work around the world. But the Free the Saves India team has continued to press ahead with vital online advocacy training that builds bridges between communities and government officials. FTS work in India...
Situation Update: Dominican Republic
The COVID-19 state of emergency and curfew continues in the Dominican Republic as the contagion spreads. Hospitals are full. Government aid has not reached impoverished communities where Free the Slaves works because of discrimination toward residents of Haitian...
Everyone Deserves a Mask
As the country director for Free the Slaves in the Dominican Republic, I work in tandem with local partners against the conditions that perpetuate exploitation and trafficking in vulnerable communities. Many of the people we work directly with are undocumented Haitian...
Americas
Acceptance Leads to Freedom
It’s a simple concept, and a universal value: acceptance. “He who is different from me does not impoverish me — he enriches me,” wrote the French author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. But in the Dominican Republic, a lack of acceptance fuels modern slavery. Haitian...
Valuing Courage in Times of Crisis
There are few places on earth where it’s harder to stand up for human rights than Haiti. On this year’s Human Rights Day, we’d like to share an update about our courageous front-line activists there, who continue to fight child slavery even in times of national...
Bukeni Tete Waruzi Joins Free the Slaves as Executive Director
Free the Slaves is thrilled to announce that a courageous advocate for the rights of women and children has joined the organization as executive director. Bukeni Tete Waruzi has helped put a Congolese warlord behind bars, has helped women trafficked into domestic...
Asia
Integrating Anti-Trafficking Work into COVID-19 Medical Interventions
International development and humanitarian relief programs frequently work in areas where modern slavery flourishes. This connection has deepened as the COVID-19 global pandemic increases social and economic vulnerabilities to human trafficking. But in India, a...
How FTS Supports Survivors in Coping with COVID-19 Lockdowns in Vietnam
Free the Slaves has recently partnered with HopeBox, a social enterprise in Hanoi, Vietnam that operates on a mission to empower women who are victims of abuse and modern slavery. With a shared mission to empower survivors of modern slavery in Vietnam, FTS is...
FTS Supports Livelihood Social Enterprise in Vietnam for Trafficking Survivors
Free the Slaves' success has always relied on one critical element: engaging grassroots partner organizations that are part of the community to build community-driven solutions. To help address human trafficking in Vietnam, FTS has just formed a partnership with...
Africa
Child Rights Begin with Children
The village school in Kobiri Nsuoano is a beacon of hope. It’s a simple building down a bumpy narrow road. But what happens inside is revolutionary. Children are learning about their rights as part of a Free the Slaves program to prevent them from being trafficked...
Understanding the Modern Slavery Landscape of the Middle East and North Africa
Women, children, migrants, refugees, and other minorities are especially vulnerable to human rights violations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). This vulnerability is magnified by a wide range of factors, including economic instability, conflict, climate...
Cutting the Long-term Costs of COVID-19: Building Resilience Against Exploitation in Senegal and Kenya
To date, the cost of the global COVID-19 pandemic has most frequently been measured in lives lost and the cost to domestic economies, while triumphs have often been charted in terms of vaccine roll-outs and partial or full returns to the ‘freedoms’ outside lockdown. ...