Today marks the 12th annual World Day Against Child Labor, started by the International Labor Organization (ILO) to highlight the plight of hundreds of millions of children engaged in work that deprives them of education, health, and basic rights. Many of these...
Slavery in the News
Brazil Marks 125 Years of Abolition with New Anti-Slavery Enforcement Tool
May 13th is a special day in Brazil. It’s the date Brazilians celebrate the Abolition Act, which outlawed slavery here in 1888. This year marked the 125th anniversary. Of course, slavery still exists in Brazil even though it has been illegal for more than a century....
See It Live: Top Officials Talk Trafficking at White House Friday Morning
Several U.S. cabinet secretaries will gather Friday morning at the White House for the annual meeting of the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. The meeting will be chaired by Secretary of State John Kerry, and will include...
Slavery Survivor & FTS Freedom Award Winner Runs for Parliament in Pakistan
Veero Kolhi is no stranger to adversity. She escaped single-handedly from slavery, and she’s helped hundreds of others overcome fear and intimidation to also break free. That’s why Free the Slaves honored Veero in 2009 with a Frederick Douglass Freedom Award....
Slavery in This Week’s News
We see slavery and trafficking stories throughout the world each week. It’s great news that journalists and bloggers are exposing the problem of slavery, and examining solutions to it. Awareness creates momentum for change. Here are 10 top stories that caught our eye:...
Slavery in This Week’s News
We see slavery and trafficking stories throughout the world each week. It’s great news that journalists and bloggers are exposing the problem of slavery, and examining solutions to it. Awareness creates momentum for change. Here are 10 top stories that caught our eye:...
Slavery in This Week’s News
We see slavery and trafficking stories throughout the world each week. It’s great news that journalists and bloggers are exposing the problem of slavery, and examining solutions to it. Awareness creates momentum for change. Here are 10 top stories that caught our eye:...
Slavery in This Week’s News
We see slavery and trafficking stories throughout the world each week. It’s great news that journalists and bloggers are exposing the problem of slavery, and examining solutions to it. Awareness creates momentum for change. Here are 10 top stories that caught our eye:...
Slavery in This Week’s News
We see slavery and trafficking stories throughout the world each week. It’s great news that journalists and bloggers are exposing the problem of slavery, and examining solutions to it. Awareness creates momentum for change. Here are 10 top stories that caught our eye:...
Slavery in this Week’s News
We see slavery and trafficking stories throughout the world each week. It’s great news that journalists and bloggers are exposing the problem of slavery, and examining solutions to it. Awareness creates momentum for change. Here are 10 top stories that caught our eye:...
Ireland’s leader apologizes for slavery at convents, offers compensation
There's major news this week from Europe involving government compensation for slavery survivors. Ireland has formally apologized for decades of slave labor inside laundries run by Catholic nuns. The notorious facilities, known as the "Magdalene Laundries," have been...
Slavery in this Week’s News
We see slavery and trafficking stories throughout the world each week. It’s great news that journalists and bloggers are exposing the problem of slavery, and examining solutions to it. Awareness creates momentum for change. Here are 10 top stories that caught our eye:...
Slavery in this Week’s News
We see slavery and trafficking stories throughout the world each week. It’s great news that journalists and bloggers are exposing the problem of slavery, and examining solutions to it. Awareness creates momentum for change. Here are 10 top stories that caught our eye:...
Brazilian State Will Close Businesses Caught Using Slave Labor
The Brazilian state of São Paulo is taking a dramatic new step.The state’s governor has just signed a law to shut down companies caught using slave labor. Violators would be banned from opening a new business for 10 years.The man behind this groundbreaking law is...
Slavery in this week’s news
We see slavery and trafficking stories throughout the world each week. It’s great news that journalists and bloggers are exposing the problem of slavery, and examining solutions to it. Awareness creates momentum for change. Here are 10 top stories that caught our eye:...
Slavery in This Week’s News
We see slavery and trafficking stories throughout the world each week. It’s great news that journalists and bloggers are exposing the problem of slavery, and examining solutions to it. Awareness creates momentum for change. Here are 10 top stories that caught our eye:...
Slavery in this Week’s News
We see slavery and trafficking stories throughout the world each week. It’s great news that journalists and bloggers are exposing the problem of slavery, and examining solutions to it. Awareness creates momentum for change. Here are 10 top stories that caught our eye:...
New Research Documents 52 Million Domestic Workers Worldwide
They clean and cook and sew and care for children. Their numbers are growing, and many of them have little legal protection. Many are slaves. The dramatic growth in number of people working as domestic servants is documented in a report released today by the...
Slavery in this week’s news
We see slavery and trafficking stories throughout the world each week. It’s great news that journalists and bloggers are exposing the problem of slavery, and examining solutions to it. Awareness creates momentum for change. Here are 10 top stories that caught our eye:...
Slavery in this Week’s News
We see slavery and trafficking stories throughout the world each week. It’s great news that journalists and bloggers are exposing the problem of slavery, and examining solutions to it. Awareness creates momentum for change. Here are 10 top stories that caught our eye:...
“Path to Freedom” Report Outlines How Obama Can Make Historic Progress on Slavery
A roadmap to strengthen America’s efforts to combat modern slavery was delivered to the White House today. It’s called “The Path to Freedom.” It’s filled with dozens of specific recommendations for the Obama administration’s second term. The report was prepared by the...
Slavery in this Week’s News
We see slavery and trafficking stories throughout the world each week. It’s great news that journalists and bloggers are exposing the problem of slavery, and examining solutions to it. Awareness creates momentum for change. Here are 10 top stories that caught our eye:...
Slavery in this Week’s News
We see slavery and trafficking stories throughout the world each week. It’s great news that journalists and bloggers are exposing the problem of slavery, and examining solutions to it. Awareness creates momentum for change. Here are 10 top stories that caught our eye:...
Slavery in this Week’s News
We see slavery and trafficking stories throughout the world each week. It’s great news that journalists and bloggers are exposing the problem of slavery, and examining solutions to it. Awareness creates momentum for change. Here are 10 top stories that caught our eye:...
Slavery in this Week’s News
We see slavery and trafficking stories throughout the world each week. It’s great news that journalists and bloggers are exposing the problem of slavery, and examining solutions to it. Awareness creates momentum for change. Here are 10 top stories that caught our eye:...
The Election is Over. Slavery Still Exists.
Editor’s Note: We asked FTS Programs Director Karen Stauss to examine the impact the election results might have on the U.S. government’s efforts to combat slavery and trafficking. What does the election outcome mean for the current members of Congress who...
U.S. Electoral College: A Vestige of Slavery?
As you watch the U.S. election results unfold tonight, here’s an interesting historical issue to keep in mind -- or to work into conversations with friends. The Electoral College was created, in part, as a compromise to give slaveholders more power. In the Electoral...
Slavery in this Week’s News
We see slavery and trafficking stories throughout the world each week. It’s great news that journalists and bloggers are exposing the problem of slavery, and examining solutions to it. Awareness creates momentum for change. Here are 10 top stories that caught our eye:...
Slavery in This Week’s News
We see slavery and trafficking stories throughout the world each week. It’s great news that journalists and bloggers are exposing the problem of slavery, and examining solutions to it. Awareness creates momentum for change. Here are 10 top stories that caught our eye:...
Slavery in this week’s news
We see slavery and trafficking stories throughout the world each week. It’s great news that journalists and bloggers are exposing the problem of slavery, and examining solutions to it. Awareness creates momentum for change. Here are 10 top stories that caught our eye:...
U.S. Industry Joins War on Congo Slavery
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) yesterday approved a new rule that requires companies to investigate their supply chains and disclose if their products contain minerals from conflict areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) or surrounding...
Slavery in the News: This Week’s Top Ten August 3, 2012
We see slavery and trafficking stories throughout the world each week. It’s great news that journalists and bloggers are exposing the problem of slavery, and examining solutions to it. Awareness creates momentum for change. Here are 10 top stories that caught our eye:...
Slavery in the News: This Week’s Top Ten July 27, 2012
We see slavery and trafficking stories throughout the world each week. It’s great news that journalists and bloggers are exposing the problem of slavery, and examining solutions to it. Awareness creates momentum for change. Here are 10 top stories that caught our eye:...
Slavery in the News: This Week’s Top Ten / July 20, 2012
We see slavery and trafficking stories throughout the world each week. It's great news that journalists and bloggers are exposing the problem of slavery, and examining solutions to it. Awareness creates momentum for change. Here are 10 top stories that caught our eye:...
Senate Talks Slavery: U.S. laws “too tame”
It was an overflow crowd as Senator John Kerry prepared to speak, the room full of activists and interns eager to learn. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee had gathered to explore “The Next Ten Years in the Fight Against Human Trafficking: Attacking the Problem...
Slavery in the News: This Week’s Top 10
We see slavery and trafficking stories throughout the world each week. It’s great news that journalists and bloggers are exposing the problem of slavery, and examining solutions to it. Awareness creates momentum for change. Here are 10 top stories that caught our eye:...
Slavery in the News: This Week’s Top Ten
We see slavery and trafficking stories throughout the world each week. It's great news that journalists and bloggers are exposing the problem of slavery, and examining solutions to it. Awareness creates momentum for change. Here are 10 top stories that caught our eye:...
Slavery in the News: This Week’s Top Ten
We see slavery and trafficking stories throughout the world each week. It's great news that journalists and bloggers are exposing slavery, and examining solutions to the problem. Awareness creates momentum for change. Here are 10 top stories that caught our eye: The...
TIP Report: Global Slavery from A to Z
If you’ve ever wondered how pervasive slavery is in the modern world, you should check out today’s Trafficking in Persons Report from the U.S. State Department. It chronicles the scope of slavery country by country around the globe—literally from A to Z, Afghanistan...
California to vote on tougher trafficking punishment
Voters in California this November will be deciding more than whether Barack Obama or Mitt Romney will be president. They’ll have a chance to send a message to traffickers. The CASE Act has qualified for the ballot. If approved, the anti-trafficking initiative will...
New Video Series Uncovers Hidden Slavery in Asia
A powerful new video series is exposing modern-day slavery in places where it is extraordinarily difficult to document. Filmmakers from the company "Good Morning Beautiful" have captured dramatic human stories of slavery in Burma, North Korea, Thailand and China....
Greenpeace exposes links between slavery and environmental destruction
You might not think you’re directly connected to rainforest destruction and slave labor. But you probably are, and a compelling report this week from Greenpeace connects the dots. It’s called “Driving Destruction in the Amazon.” It highlights how steel used to make...
Former Liberia president convicted of slavery
Historic news this week from a special U.N court. Former Liberian President Charles Taylor was convicted of “aiding and abetting” crimes against humanity. The charges included sexual slavery of women, and conscripting children to fight as soldiers, which is also a...
US attorney general: slavery has reached “crisis proportions”
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is speaking out against modern-day slavery, saying it’s “urgent” to “more successfully identify, assist, and seek justice on behalf of the millions of human trafficking victims who have been trapped in some form of slavery, bonded...
Today commemorates the beginning of the end
Today is Emancipation Day in our nation’s capital. It is more than just a local holiday and the reason your federal taxes are due a day later this year. That is because this year marks the 150th anniversary of emancipation in America. On April 16, 1862, President...
Accountability & Action: USAID’s Counter-Trafficking Policy
Editor’s Note: This Sunday, March 25, marks the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and Transatlantic Slave Trade. We thought it would be a good opportunity to invite Sarah Mendelson to guest blog about an important new anti-trafficking...
CNN exposes “slavery’s last stronghold”
CNN’s team produced a moving 23-minute documentary and companion article featuring FTS co-founder Kevin Bales, who traveled undercover to Mauritania for his groundbreaking book Disposable People. CNN’s documentary coverage is a rare look into a little-covered corner...
Slavery in the News: Brazil’s World Cup Stadium built by former slaves
Some interesting and inspiring stories came out in the news this week: Former "slaves" build Brazil World Cup stadium (Reuters) This is a beautiful story about a Brazilian anti-slavery program which places formerly enslaved laborers into legitimate jobs—while...
Investors support the Business Transparency on Trafficking and Slavery Act
Yesterday members of Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) and US SIF submitted a letter on behalf of 80 institutional investors, research and investment firms, to Rep. John Boehner (Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives) and Rep. Eric Cantor...
Kevin Bales Talks Cocoa on CNN
Free the Slaves co-founder Kevin Bales was on CNN last Friday. He was interviewed by Richard Quest about the state of slavery in the cocoa industry. Just over 10 years ago, in September 2001, Free the Slaves helped broker the historic Harkin-Engel Protocol. Otherwise...