Freedom Needs Truth
The ATEST Coalition, which includes Free the Slaves, has signed on to this open letter about the impact of QAnon on anti-trafficking work.
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Archive for 2020
Can You Help Stop Child Slavery?
Did you know that 1 in 4 victims of modern slavery are children?
At 7 years old, Kwezi left his childhood home with expectations of a better life and more opportunities. But that was far from his reality. Instead, he was tricked by traffickers and was forced to work on dangerous and deadly fishing boats, with little food and rest.
What happened to Kwezi has happened to more than 10 million children worldwide: systemic child slavery. Disadvantaged families in impoverished countries read more >
Promoting Racial Justice Can Stop Modern Slavery
Racial injustice is a legacy of slavery. The Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment outlawed slavery in the U.S., and the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights helped prohibit slavery around the world. But these remarkable achievements did not end slavery. And they have not eradicated systemic injustice that modern forms of slavery still cause today.
In Mauritania, darker-skinned residents are trapped in forced labor by those with lighter skin. In the Dominican Republic, immigrants from read more >
ATEST Expands, Adding Three New Organizations
Three trailblazing organizations have joined the Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST), expanding the alliance’s depth and breadth of expertise and strengthening the alliance’s collective voice. HEAL Trafficking, Humanity United Action and the McCain Institute for International Leadership bring the alliance to 15 member organizations. Free the Salves serves as the alliance co-chair and secretariat.
HEAL Trafficking
HEAL Trafficking is a network of more than 3,500 survivors and multidisciplinary professionals in 35 countries building the capacity of read more >
Haiti Government Pledges Financial Support to Fight Child Trafficking
Haiti’s National Committee to Combat Trafficking in Persons will have the financial capacity to carry out its ambitious agenda, thanks to a commitment by the government to provide 20 million Haitian gourdes (about $185,000 USD) in financial support. It’s the first infusion of funding since the committee was created five years ago.
The committee’s job is critical to implementing Haiti’s anti-trafficking law, which was enacted in 2014. The committee’s mission is to coordinate anti-trafficking activities, prevent and combat trafficking in all read more >
Preventing Imports Tainted by Uyghur Forced Labor
The Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST), which is co-chaired by Free the Slaves, supports legislation that will prevent Chinese products tainted by Uyghur forced labor from being imported into the United States. See the letter to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee below:
September 10, 2020
The Honorable James Risch Chairman
Senate Foreign Relations Committee United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Bob Menendez Ranking Member
Senate Foreign Relations Committee United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Risch and Ranking read more >
New Members Strengthen FTS Board of Directors
Free the Slaves is honored that two exceptional anti-trafficking experts have agreed to join our board of directors.
Davina Durgana and Karen Stauss will help shape innovative anti-slavery strategies as we enter our third decade as an organization.
Davina Durgana is an award-winning international human rights statistician with more than a decade of experience developing leading global models assessing risk and vulnerability to modern slavery. She is an American Statistical Association Statistical Advocate of the Year, Vice Chair of Statistics without Borders, read more >
Opportunities in an Age of Adaptation
The 8th annual Freedom from Slavery Forum is happening in a unique and exceptional environment. Countries have taken measures to contain the COVID-19 global pandemic, but modern-day slavery including sexual slavery, forced labor and human trafficking has grown worse as proven by several research findings and everyday facts. Civil society organizations are at the front of the fight, but are experiencing increased demand for services while facing a decrease in funding, driving an urgent need for innovation in advocacy and read more >
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 has been focused on the creation and training of District Bonded Labor Vigilance Committees. Their job is to ensure that India’s ban on bonded labor slavery is enforced at the grassroots level.
Recently, our India partner organization read more >
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 descent.
Villagers are unable to maintain social distancing as most families live in crowded conditions where everyone sleeps in the same room. Parents search for work – any work – without masks. Teenage girls are selling sex to tourists to survive.
We are especially read more >
