Blog
Capacity Building in Mauritania
This post was written by Dame Ba, Mauritania Program Coordinator Free the Slaves is working hard trying to change the conditions that allow slavery to persist. That’s why we're continuing our work in Mauritania to promote social inclusion and prevent the...
Free the Slaves Partners with Three New Organizations in Vietnam
Free the Slaves is excited to announce our new partnerships in Vietnam. These partnerships will allow us to understand more about the country and its need to have more players in the human trafficking space. These partnership endeavors are essential for developing...
Free the Slaves Partners with Three Filipino Organizations
Free the Slaves is excited to announce new partnerships with local organizations in the Philippines. These partnerships will allow us better to understand the context of slavery in the Philippines and strengthen our efforts to combat it. We partner with the Balaod...
Get Involved
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...
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...
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...
Our Work
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...
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...
Global Leaders Meet in Ethiopia to Strengthen Civil Society Response to Trafficking and Slavery
Human rights activists from around the globe strategized new ways to confront the widespread problem of human trafficking and modern slavery during a special three-day convening at the U.N. Conference Center last week in Addis Ababa. Experts from 46 organizations in...
News
FTS Applauds Nomination of John Cotton Richmond as Trafficking Ambassador
Great news this week. Our colleague at the Human Trafficking Institute, John Cotton Richmond, is being nominated to become America’s next human trafficking ambassador (White House announcement here). Once confirmed by the Senate, Richmond will run the State...
2018 TIP Report Upgrades Several African Countries
The U.S. State Department says many African governments are doing a better job combating modern slavery. More than a dozen African nations received upgrades in the annual Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP). The upgrades include Ghana, where Free the Slaves has helped...
Special Ghana Field Report: Child Trafficking No Longer Tolerated
I am in Ghana this week with news to share that just can’t wait, so I’m writing directly from the field. The work you support has transformed villages where child trafficking used to be common. I’ve just seen it firsthand. It takes time to reach Dzilakope, a remote...
Americas
How Education Conquers Child Slavery
It's back-to-school time for many Free the Slaves supporters. That means it's a perfect opportunity to reflect on the importance of educating a child. I thought I should share with you the observations of our development director, Lori Fitzmaurice, from her recent...
New Video and Report Showcase Model Communities in Haiti
It’s heartbreaking to learn that rural Haitian families often feel they have no choice but to send some of their children away because they can’t afford to care for them. The restavek system is a longstanding tradition in Haiti, where rural kids are sent to live with...
Haiti Enacts World’s Newest Anti-Trafficking Law
Slavery has been illegal in Haiti longer than anywhere else. Yet the enslavement of children as domestic servants through the restavek system of child trafficking continues to plague the nation. The Walk Free Global Slavery Index estimates more than 209,000 Haitians...
Asia
Double the Number of Slaves Living Free
A single piece of paper can change someone’s life. That’s why Free the Slaves provides vital legal support for people we liberate from bondage. This summer, you can double the number of survivors who receive official documentation to put slavery behind them and resume...
Double Your Impact with our Doubling Down on Freedom Campaign
As chair of the Free the Slaves board of directors, I want to personally let you know that a generous foundation this summer is increasing its support of our work. They’ll match dollar-for-dollar your summertime contributions, up to $100,000. It’s a unique opportunity...
Ensuring Trafficking Survivors Get Justice
The Human Trafficking Legal Center in the U.S. has a saying: “When survivors have lawyers, survivors have rights.” That’s the key message that staff attorney Sarah Bessell brought to India for a workshop coordinated by her center, the Institute of Social Studies in...
Africa
He Escaped to Reclaim Hope
Every child has the right to grow up in a safe environment that provides opportunities for a decent future. It’s a fundamental value, self-determination. Unfortunately, thousands of children in Ghana are denied this basic principle of fairness. Instead, they are...
Thankful That We All Value Freedom
As the new executive director at Free the Slaves, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on the values that motivate me in the historic struggle to end slavery forever. They are values that drive all efforts to foster social justice. I am certain they are things that...
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...