Freedom United’s 2022 For Freedom Awards

Freedom United’s 2022 For Freedom Awards

Exciting news – we are launching Freedom United’s inaugural For Freedom Awards! January, Human Trafficking Prevention month, is the perfect time to highlight and recognize exceptional work within the Freedom United community tackling systemic injustices and demanding change for a world more resilient to modern slavery and human trafficking. 

2022 was a difficult year but despite this, activists on the frontline against modern slavery worked tirelessly to campaign for change. We’re so proud of everything the anti-modern slavery community achieved in a challenging human rights landscape. 

Community awards header

For Freedom Campaigner of the Year Award

The Campaigner of the Year Award goes to an individual who has excelled in anti-modern slavery campaigning and activism in 2022.

Freedom United is proud to award the Campaigner of the Year Award to Payzee Mahmod for her leadership on the campaign to end child marriage in England and Wales. Payzee’s inspiring activism secured the passage of the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Bill, removing a legal exception that allowed 16 and 17-year-olds to marry with parental or familial consent, better protecting children from forced marriage. Read more about Payzee’s campaigning.


Our Safeguard Futures, Ban Child Marriage campaign has had a historic win… This means that we are one step closer to ensuring that every child is safe from the harms of child marriage.

Payzee Mahmod

For Freedom Digital Activist Award

The Digital Activist Award recognizes the dedication within the Freedom United community to raising awareness and using their voice to power our collective calls. Those who loudly demand change, are consistent in putting modern slavery in the spotlight, making all of our work possible!

This wasn’t an easy call to make but Freedom United is proud to award the Digital Activist Award to Sylwia Magon for being the most active digital campaigner in the Freedom United community in 2022!

Sylwia, a translator from Poland, enjoys using Freedom United’s resources to learn more about modern slavery and to take action. Join Sylwia in the Freedom United community.


I try to raise awareness among the people close to me by pointing out various correlations between modern slavery and goods in our everyday life.

Sylwia Magon

For Freedom Impact Award

The For Freedom Impact Award highlights organizations that Freedom United has partnered closely with on modern slavery campaigns in 2022, whose work has secured significant changes for a world more resilient to modern slavery.

Freedom United is proud to award the Impact Award to This Is Lebanon for their impressive work advocating for migrant domestic workers in Lebanon, demanding an end to labor exploitation, trafficking and modern slavery.

Together, Freedom United and This Is Lebanon have called on Lebanon’s Ministry of Labour to immediately abolish the kafala system. Read more about This Is Lebanon’s work here!

Full list of nominees:

Be Slavery Free

For their work advocating for action against exploitation in cocoa.

IKWRO

For their work ending child marriage in England and Wales.

Campaign for Uyghurs

For their work organizing grassroots mobilization in the Uyghur diaspora for Uyghur rights protection.

Coalition Against Slavery and Trafficking (CAST)

For their work helping trafficking survivors convicted of loitering to clear their names and rebuild their lives.

The International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China

For their work demanding governments take action to address forced organ harvesting and organ trafficking.

This Is Lebanon

For their work demanding better protections for migrant domestic workers in Lebanon against forced labor and exploitation.

World Uyghur Congress

For their work toward justice for human rights violations against the Uyghur people.

Uyghur Human Rights Project

For their work raising awareness of and calling for an end to the systematic abuse of the rights of Uyghurs.

For Freedom Spotlight Award

The For Freedom Spotlight Award is in recognition of organizations leading on impactful campaigns that have focused attention and raised awareness of changes needed to end modern slavery.

Freedom United is proud to award the Spotlight Award to Domestic Workers Advocacy Network (DOWAN)!

DOWAN does incredible work in Sierra Leone raising awareness of the risk of exploitation for migrant domestic workers under the kafala system in Lebanon. Read more about DOWAN’s work here!

Full list of nominees:

Domestic Workers Advocacy Network

For their work demanding better protections for migrant domestic workers in Lebanon against forced labor and exploitation.

After Exploitation

For their work carrying out research and gathering data on the realities of modern slavery in the U.K.

English Collective of Prostitutes

For their work campaigning for sex workers’ rights so they may be better protected from exploitation, violence and trafficking.

Refugees in Libya & Solidarity with Refugees in Libya

For their work amplifying the voices of refugees in Libya and mobilizing for their protection and freedom from arbitrary detention, forced labor and abuse.

Migrant Defenders

For their work advocating for the rights of migrant workers in the Gulf.

Survivors’ Network, Cameroon

For their work supporting people who have survived modern slavery to recover and move forward, and in empowering more people to become survivor advocates in the anti-trafficking movement.

Girls Inspired

For their work in local communities building resilience to trafficking and re-trafficking through skills development and awareness-raising.

Survivor Alliance

For their work empowering modern slavery survivors to become leaders in the anti-modern slavery movement.

National Survivor Network

For their work fostering connections between trafficking survivors in the U.S. to build a national anti-trafficking movement in which survivors are at the forefront and recognized as leaders.

Legal Services for Prisoners with Children

For their work advocating for human and civil rights for incarcerated persons, including abolishing prison slavery in the U.S.