Thought Leadership

Raising Awareness in Schools

Raising Awareness in Schools

“One child, one teacher, one pen, and one book can change the world.” – Malala Yousafzai. Children are like clay. We can mold them into any shape and form just by our actions or our words. If we take the time to educate children, FTS and our partners believe that many...

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Inaugural Elkes Impact Award Winners Announced

The Elkes Impact Awards were established in recognition of the tremendous work local advocate survivors and civil society organizations are doing in their communities. Local survivors and organizations too often do not receive widespread acknowledgment of their work,...

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2021 Regional Forums Initiative Concludes

It’s been a busy past three months! The Freedom from Slavery Forum held three regional events focusing on Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa, and the combined regions of North America, Europe, and the Caribbean. This concluded the series of 2021 regional...

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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...

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Celebrating Women of Free the Slaves

For more than 100 years, International Women's Day has put a spotlight onto issues affecting women around the world. Today, International Women's Day belongs to everyone who believes that women's rights are human rights. We Asked some of Free the Slaves’ leading...

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Learning From the Past to End Slavery Today

A new free downloadable resource from our partners at the University of Nottingham, including FTS Co-founder Kevin Bales: Today we are engaged in a global antislavery movement. But there have been at least four large antislavery movements in human history. We are part...

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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...

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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...

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Ghana Program Called a Model for the World

The first-ever Child Protection Compact (CPC) Partnership to end child trafficking is wrapping up its fifth year in Ghana, and officials say it has been a terrific success that other countries should follow. That assessment comes this week by officials from the...

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Freedom Forward

It is a great honor for me to become the next chair of the board of directors for Free the Slaves, one of the founding and leading organizations of the global movement against modern slavery. I am grateful to my dear friend and predecessor, Dan Elkes, whose uncommon...

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FTS Announces New Board of Directors Chair

A new chair has been elected to lead the Free the Slaves board of directors. Professor Timothy Patrick McCarthy, Ph.D., is an award-winning scholar, educator, activist and public servant. He holds a joint faculty appointment at Harvard University, where he is Core...

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Global Freedom One Community at a Time

Dear Friends and Supporters, I write this letter as I shelter in place amidst the spreading of the coronavirus pandemic. The close tethering to our homes underscores the importance of communities even in today’s hyperconnected world. Likewise, eliminating slavery...

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20 Years of Fighting for Freedom

The year 2020 brings several important anniversaries. It’s the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Palermo Protocol, the landmark treaty to confront modern forms of slavery worldwide. It’s the 20th anniversary of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, the...

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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...

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The Outlaw Ocean: Special Reports in August

Editor's Note: Free the Slaves is honored this month to highlight the investigative reporting of journalist Ian Urbina of the New York Times, creator of The Outlaw Ocean Project. His award-winning series first appeared in the Times in 2015. For the past four years,...

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Dedicated to Peace, Freedom, Human Dignity

My journey to becoming a human rights activist began while I was a high school.  During holiday breaks, my classmates and I organized "Framing Camps" to benefit children in our neighborhood. Later, I had an opportunity to attend a child rights workshop and research...

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The Journey to Freedom

Field testing is underway for our latest training initiative. A Free the Slaves team this month debuted our new handbook on the liberation, rehabilitation and reintegration of people who’ve been trapped in modern slavery. The first five-day beta test workshop was...

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Community Liberation Initiative Takes Root

Free the Slaves has begun the work of educating field workers at high-impact international development organizations how to liberate entire communities from slavery. This year, we have partnered with READ Nepal, a group that helps villagers improve their livelihoods,...

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See our 2017 Annual Report Online

Transparency and accountability. They are two guiding principles of Free the Slaves, and the reason why we publish a detailed report every year about our activities, impact and financial health. The theme of our most recent annual report is "Communities, Counterparts...

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Celebrating 200 Years of Frederick Douglass

February marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Frederick Douglass, one of history’s great abolitionists. At Free the Slaves, we’re proud to follow his footsteps and finish the work he helped start generations ago. Douglass was born into slavery in Maryland – the...

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Rejecting Racism, Strengthening our Bonds

Every day, the staff of Free the Slaves works in solidarity with local partners and communities to help bring about a more just world. We do so in Haiti, in several countries in Africa, and in Asia. Every day, our staff manifests tremendous dedication and skill. Every...

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Positioning FTS for Global Impact

Question: What do you call 26 smart, dedicated, energized, motivated and passionate human rights activists gathered together in one room? Answer: a global force for freedom! That’s the takeaway message from our 2017 all-staff retreat, which wrapped up Friday. Two...

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The Woman Behind the Fair Trade Fashion Show

As we get closer to our Fair Trade Fashion Show, it's a great opportunity to shine a light on our co-host, Bead & Reel. Founded in 2014 by Sica Schmitz, Bead & Reel epitomizes ethical fashion. This brand offers clothing that is eco-friendly, cruelty-free and...

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Amazing New Stories of Triumph Over Slavery

FTS is proud to present a special series profiling Ghanaian children who survived fishing slavery on Lake Volta. FTS volunteer Emily Teague traveled to Ghana to photograph them. These young victims were forced to work day and night on dangerous, deadly fishing boats....

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