It’s hard to deny that the effects of coronavirus or Covid-19 are wide-reaching, as drastic attempts to reduce its impact become ever more widespread. But what about the impact on modern slavery? Like many areas of life, the coronavirus has affected the effort to fight it – next week’s My Story, My Dignity workshops are cancelled as is a planned 107,511 strong petition hand-in, led by Payzee Mahmod, to the British Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street. As a direct result of measures to control the spread of the pandemic, the factors that make people vulnerable to modern slavery are
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Bangladesh film screening brings attention to labor issues in garment industry
On Thursday night, Freedom United supporters gathered in New York City for a screening of Rubaiyat Hossain’s new docudrama Made in Bangladesh, co-hosted with our partners at the United Nations Association of New York. The film follows a group of women working in exploitative labor conditions in one of Bangladesh’s fast fashion factories. When Shimu, the headstrong protagonist, discovers that she earns pennies sewing clothes that sell for high prices in Western markets, she leads her coworkers in a struggle to unionize and demand their labor rights. Made in Bangladesh
Imagine your worst experience. How would you want your story told?
In January the Freedom United team ran its first My Story, My Dignity workshop at the Faith and Anti-trafficking conference organized by the Universities of Sheffield and Leeds. Led by our team members, Joanna Ewart-James and Miriam Karmali, and collaborating photographer Jeremy Abrahams, the workshop focused on giving participants practical skills to represent modern slavery with accuracy, respect and dignity. My Story, My Dignity was the first campaign launched under Freedom United. It began by calling on large media houses to show the importance of treating modern slavery
France and Côte d’Ivoire make a strong commitment to ending forced labor
Freedom United gathers roundtable discussion in New York UN staff and NGO workers came together today for a lively roundtable discussion on international commitments to ending forced labor. The event was organized by Freedom United and hosted by the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations in New York. The Permanent Representative of France, H.E. Nicolas de Rivière, and the Deputy Permanent Representative of Côte d’Ivoire, H.E. Tiemoko Moriko, made opening remarks along with our Advocacy Officer, Herrana Addisu. Both countries stressed their countries’
Debunking common myths about human trafficking
It is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month and Freedom United is raising awareness this January by debunking some common myths about human trafficking and modern slavery. Human trafficking is one form of modern slavery amongst others, such as debt bondage, forced marriage, and child slavery. According to the Palermo Protocol, trafficking is defined as “recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons […] through threats, use of force or other forms of coercion […] for the purpose of exploitation. The Global Slavery Index estimates that