Minerals that come from the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo turn up in electronics, in light bulbs, batteries and other everyday items. It would be hard to escape our connection to these items, and through them, our connection to slavery and conflict in...
As a special thank you to readers of this blog, we are offering you a 30% discount to the Freedom Awards! When you buy your tickets, input the code: FTS Blog The annual Freedom Awards is the biggest event of the anti-slavery movement. Sir Ken Robinson is presiding...
Editor’s note: Alison Leuchtenburg, outreach intern at Free the Slaves was leader of Team Free the Slaves for the Stop Modern Slavery Walk this past Saturday. Below is her report from the event: Congratulations to our partner DC Stop Modern Slavery for organizing a...
Free the Slaves is looking for Volunteers in the DC metro area to be a part of making history. We have been working with our partners in India to conduct household surveys on debt-bondage. And now, we need volunteers to help sift through all this data. Read how a...
Some more press on Free the Slaves Global Ambassador Katie Ford's benefit event at Top of The Standard in New York last week. This round: InStyle and Tonic.com. via Tonic.com: Stars Mix, Mingle And Bid to Free the Slaves Michael Stipe, Helena...
Our Global Ambassador Katie Ford put on a much buzzed about benefit for Free the Slaves last Wednesday at The Standard in New York. The finally tally is still being made, but by all accounts the event raised good money—money we can put into continuing to free enslaved...
Editor's note: Members of the Free the Slaves Harvard college chapter saw that even though human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world, it is still not common knowledge that slavery exists today, in virtually country in the world. So they...
Free the Slaves Global Ambassador Katie Ford has organized a fundraiser for Free the Slaves, taking place tomorrow, October 20 at the Top of the Standard Hotel in New York City. Michael Stipe, Helena Christensen and Andre Balazs will be there. (LooktotheStars.org did...
Last night the entire hour of Larry King Live was given over to modern day slavery. And we were excited to see that in his interviews, King quoted generously from Free the Slaves research. He used our website (FreetheSlaves.net) as the source for some of the facts and...
The count down is on! The Stop Modern Slavery Walk is happening THIS weekend! Will you walk with us? We are aiming for 50 people to join Team Free the Slaves. We've got 11 so far. But we need more! Show your support for the anti-slavery movement—and for the...
Free the Slaves President Kevin Bales has been doing the media rounds recently! As well as his video interview with Big Think, Mr. Bales did some blog interviews. Here they are: Rick Apperson, a missionary based in British Columbia, Canada, runs a blog called "Just a...
Free the Slaves President Kevin Bales is featured on Big Think today—a wonderful website that features video interviews with the great minds of our time. Watch his interview below!
Over the past year, Free the Slaves has been researching the extent of slavery in the mines in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Our teams have discovered multiple instances of slavery here—including sexual slavery, peonage, child soldiering, forced marriage and...
We getting very excited about the Freedom Awards, coming up November 7 in Los Angeles. It is going to be an amazing show. The best and brightest of the anti-slavery movement will be celebrated. And Jason Mraz, Rocky Dawumi and creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson are...
Free the Slaves' Global Ambassador, Katie Ford is featured in the New York Daily News today. Ford is the former CEO of Ford Models—the prestigious agency was founded by her parents, and Katie helmed the company from 1995 to 2007. This article follows Ford's journey...
In Northern Uganda, Free the Slaves partner Friends of Orphans heals entire communities with their Peace Scout program. The founder of Uganda's Friends of Orphans, Ricky Anywar, was the 2008 recipient of the Harriet Tubman Freedom Award, given every year to exemplary...
We call it a soul-revving, heart-thumping, shout-out-loud celebration. You'll be dancing in the isles and shouting out "Freedom rocks!" It's the 2010 Freedom Awards, honoring the heros of the anti slavery movement. And it's less than a month away. On Sunday, November...
Desmond Tutu: "Thank You" from Free the Slaves on Vimeo. Father Desmond Tutu announced today that he is retiring from public service. The tireless anti-apartheid crusader who has been called the "conscience of Africa" says he wants to enjoy the remainder of his days...
Free the Slaves Outreach Coordinator Tawney Bevacqua (seen above) and College Chapters Coordinator Judy Hyde have been hard at work revamping our college chapter process. Last week, we launched the FTS college chapter Facebook page, which is jam packed with pointers...
Last night, the Law & Order: SVU episode about modern day slavery aired. The story focused on the uncovering of a human trafficking ring that forced American children into hard labor and sex slavery. The episode showed how these heinous crimes can be hidden in...
A Sunday article in the Guardian, connecting globalization to slavery, sourced two Free the Slaves representatives: our President Kevin Bales, and our board member and 2008 Freedom Award winner Xavier Plassat. Journalist Felicity Lawrence specializes in exposing...
Washington, D.C.—At a hearing held by the House Foreign Affairs Committee yesterday, the State Department’s anti-trafficking Ambassador Luis CdeBaca recommended that slavery eradication efforts take a more victim centered approach. Survivors of modern day slavery...
U.S. Anti Trafficking Ambassador Luis CdeBaca gave an eloquent speech on modern slavery yesterday, at a special symposium titled "Slavery: Through the Eyes of George Washington", hosted by Free the Slaves, Black Women United for Action and Mount Vernon Ladies'...
Editor's note: This post is written by Paul Bernish, the Director of Antislavery and Human Trafficking Initiatives at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, a museum in Cincinnati, Ohio. Free the Slaves is one of several organizations that partnered with...
Editor's note: Karen Stauss is the Director of Programs at Free the Slaves. Here, she responds to the passage of the California Supply Chain Transparency Act (SB 657), signed into law today by Governor Schwarzenegger. "We commend Governor Schwarzeneggar for signing...
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced today that he has signed the California Supply Chain Transparency Act (SB 657). With our partners at the non-partisan coalition of U.S.-based anti-slavery organizations, Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking...
Editor's note: Alison Leuchtenburg is the current outreach intern at Free the Slaves. She will be the leader of Team Free the Slaves for the Stop Modern Slavery Walk on October 3rd, when thousands of anti-slavery activists and organizations will gather at the National...
Attention all Washington, DC freedom fighters! The DC Stop Slavery Walk is having a happy hour get together for all partners tomorrow at Mad Hatter. Time: 6:30pm Place: Mad Hatter, 1319 Connecticut Avenue N.W. (Dupont Circle Metro), Washington, DC 20036 RSVP: via...
The Stop Modern Slavery Walk at the National Mall in Washington, DC is right around the corner. And Free the Slaves is looking for people to join our team! If you are on DC on Saturday, October 23, we want you to walk with us. To take part, go to...
Spread the word! Share this Free the Slaves PSA with your friends. There are 27 million slaves in the world today. Slavery must end. And we have a plan to do it. Camilla Bell, Russell Simmons, Malin Akerman, Kimberly Cole, Rex Lee, Mark Feuerstein, Maurice Greene and...
Like tens of thousands of children in Haiti, Cam-Suze was held as a restavek*, a child slave. Her life changed when she met Free the Slaves’ partner, Fondasyon Limyè Lavi. When she was recently asked to contrast her life now with a childhood in slavery she said: “Oh...
Modern day slavery is the human rights issue of our time. It's not just a foreign issue—slavery happens right here, in the U.S. Thousands are trafficked into the country every year, and countless more are trafficked within the U.S. Take a stand against this egregious...
The 2010 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) wrapped up yesterday. Free the Slaves president Kevin Bales was there. But, unlike in previous years, he did not take part in any panels or presentations—this time, he was just an attendee. But, it seems that the legacy of...
Veero took a terrifying risk to break free from slavery. She slipped away, alone and on foot, from a farm where men were kept in leg irons and women were guarded by armed thugs. She now shows others how they can walk to freedom too. Read more about Veero's courageous...
Rambho was tricked into slavery after his father died. He worked 16 hours a day weaving carpets. When his fingers bled, the slave owner dipped them in oil and lit them on fire. That was before the raid that changed Rambho's life forever. Rambho and 10 other boys...
This video, produced by Free the Slaves, takes a big picture look at slavery in Nepal—and how Free the Slaves partners with grass roots organizations to end it. Learn more about our work in Nepal here, here and here.
Karnataka, India—September 15 was JEEVIKA Day, a celebration of anti-slavery activism. For the first time ever, activists and representatives from local government convened for a public dialogue on the extent of slavery—and the government’s role in combating it. Since...
Free the Slaves 2010 William Wilberforce Freedom Award winner is featured on Huffington Post! Roger Plant headed up a special branch of the UN's International Labor Organization dedicated to combatting slavery. His first order of business was to count the number of...
Craigslist representatives testified at a House Judiciary Committee hearing on sex trafficking of minors this morning. It was the first time the website made a detailed public statement about the recent take down of their "Adult Services" ads. Craigslist removed these...
Last June, Jason Mraz traveled to Ghana with Free the Slaves to see the work we do with our partner organization, Challenging Heights. Challenging Heights is founded by Freedom Award winner James Koffi Annan—a survivor of childhood slavery who now dedicates his life...
Craigslist has been allowing the advertisement of children for commercial sex around the world, including in the United States, for years. I used to work at Polaris Project, a major domestic anti-trafficking organization where I had clients, young American girls,...
Jason Mraz and Luc and the Lovingtons performed at Freedom Fest last week, in honor of Free the Slaves. Video journalist Urban Nomad interviewed the artists for the LA weekly. See video of Jason Mraz singing the "Freedom Song" at a shelter for child slavery survivors...
Under a barrage of media scrutiny and accusations of facilitating sex trafficking, Craigslist quietly took down the adult services section of their website last week. Other than emblazoning a bold "censored" bar over the adult services link on their website—which they...
Tina Frundt is a survivor of childhood sex trafficking, right here in the U.S. Now, through her organization Courtney's House, she dedicates her life to helping others out of sex slavery. For her work in guiding people to freedom, Free the Slaves has awarded her the...
Back in June, Jason Mraz went to Ghana with Free the Slaves to visit with our partner Challenging Heights—an organization that helps free and rehabilitate child slaves. Challenging Heights' founder, James Kofi Annan was himself sold into slavery when he was just six...
If you had any doubt that slaves exist right here in the United States, this story will set you straight. Rose and Christie were trafficked from their native Cameroon and enslaved as domestic servants in a Washington, D.C. household. Their story of survival is...
Free the Slaves Director of Programs, Karen Stauss was quoted in an AOL News article covering the all male and transgender sex trafficking ring busted in Spain earlier this week. AOL's Dana Kennedy writes: In Twist to Sex Trade, Spain Busts Male Prostitute Ring Young...
Access Hollywood ran footage from the red carpet for the 2009 Freedom Awards! Free the Slaves holds this event every year in Los Angeles, honoring the work of anti-slavery activists around the world. The 2010 awards are just around the corner. This year, Jason Mraz is...