by Michelle Palmer The reality is that most victims of modern slavery and human trafficking are not abducted or kidnapped. That can happen, and people should exercise reasonable precautions to keep themselves and their loved ones safe, but there are factors that create higher risk, or vulnerabilities, to enslavement. Many of these factors… Read More Pathways to Modern Slavery
Most of the world’s cocoa beans come from West Africa, specifically Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. In 2015, Tulane University released a report that estimated that over 2 million children were involved in “hazardous work” in the cocoa industry in that region. Not all child labor is technically “slavery,” but “hazardous work” is one of the worst forms of child labor as outlined by the ILO. Exploitation is exploitation, and our duty to be conscientious consumers remains the same whatever form it takes.… Read More Chocolate’s Impact on Modern Slavery
by Michelle Palmer After my post on Forced Labor and Channon’s post on Sex Trafficking, my own dear dad suggested I write a post with some examples to show what happens and how it happens. I agreed it might be helpful to demonstrate the various ways people are tricked, trapped, and exploited so that we… Read More Modern Slavery: A Collection of Stories
by Channon Oyeniran “The brothels are incredibly lucrative. The girl who ‘cost’ $150 can be sold for sex up to ten times a night and bring in $10,000 per month. The only expenses are payments to the police [bribes] and a pittance for food.” – Kevin Bales, Disposable People As previously mentioned in posts… Read More The Worldwide Problem of Sex Trafficking
Where does it happen? Everywhere. Yes, even in the United States. The U.S. based NGO, KnowTheChain, estimates that in the U.S. 5% of farm workers are victims of forced labor. There are also Filipino domestic workers enslaved in the Middle East, Cambodian fisherman exploited in Thailand, Brazilians trapped deep in the Amazon making charcoal…… Read More An Introduction to Forced Labor
Some days it doesn’t feel like enough. In fact, a lot of days it feels like the little things I do aren’t enough to make any difference at all. But if none of us do anything because all of us feel like it’s not enough, then nothing will ever get better. We need EVERYBODY to play a part: liberal, conservative, Republican, Democrat, independent… EVERYBODY. If we ALL do what we can, I promise we can have #ABetterNextYear.… Read More 2017: “But what can we do?!”
by Channon Oyeniran Hello friends! As we draw nearer to Christmas and the new year, I just wanted to do a quick summary of an article I read the other day in The Globe and Mail. It was titled, “Police find 16 human-trafficking victims in cross-Canada investigation,” and it talks about human trafficking in… Read More Human Trafficking in Ontario
After four years of work in The Philippines, there were up to 86% drops in the availability of minors for commercial sexual exploitation in major cities. Cambodia has seen a drastic decrease of minors in the sex trade. Owning slaves in India has become more risky as law enforcement have become more aggressive. All thanks to IJM’s work. … Read More Organization Profile: IJM
“I think that there’s a misperception sometimes that all you need is Liam Neeson and his special set of skills to end slavery, and while yes, rescues happen and are important, and are part of the playbook, they’re only one part of this continuum of activity that happens leading up to the moment of liberation…”… Read More Organization Profile: Free the Slaves
by Michelle Palmer I’ve been learning about modern slavery – both formally and informally – for nearly 10 years now. Back in January of 2007, I didn’t have a clue about the then-estimated 27 million people still enslaved around the globe, nor did many of my friends. (Current estimates now sit around 46 million,… Read More Modern Slavery: A Primer
Tuesday Justice 