Speak free

What we're talking about right now.

Child Slavery
Friday November 2, 2018

Pioneering a Path to Slavery-Free Chocolate

Tate Johnston

Much of the work in the anti-slavery movement has been directed at convincing businesses fixated on profits to investigate (and address) abuses hidden in their supply chains. But some businesses are starting off on a much better foot, with a more pro-active approach to do social good. In fact, some are building their entire business model to prove that it can be done without exploitation and abuse. Social entrepreneurship is a growing trend. These start-ups combine a big heart with a head for business, using the engine of commerce to drive positive change. One company, Tony’s

Read more
Activists
Tuesday August 28, 2018

Going the distance to raise awareness

Tate Johnston

Matt and Reece, both 26, are from the UK and are circumnavigating the globe on a scooter with a sidecar. They’re going to be the first people to ever do it and 10 months in they have already quadrupled the current Guinness World Record for the longest journey by scooter and sidecar. They’re doing it to raise awareness of modern slavery and human trafficking – we met up with them to find out why… Join Matt and Reece for live Facebook Q&A session on Friday, August 31 at 2:00 PM EDT.  What inspired you to start this journey? Well, we started thinking about how the decisions we

Read more
Sex trafficking
Thursday March 1, 2018

Trafficked but Thrown in Jail. Why you need to know Cyntoia Brown

Jamison Liang

Chances are you have seen Cyntoia Brown’s name on social media in recent weeks. But who exactly is she? And what’s getting celebrities from Rihanna to Kim Kardashian to speak out about her tragic case? Cytnoia Brown’s case isn’t actually new. She has been behind bars for ten years, sentenced to life in prison for killing a man in self defense when she was just 16 years-old. Brown had been trafficked for sexual exploitation by a pimp, and but when she shot a 43 year-old man she refused to have sex with she ended up being tried as an adult in the Tennessee courts, jailed for

Read more
Activists
Friday April 6, 2018

Freedom Fortnight: How It All Started

Tate Johnston

“The director’s been selling the orphans for sex.” Stunned silence. “Wait. What?!” Head shaking like I hadn’t heard right. Or out of disbelief. That was it. That was when my eyes were opened to the reality of sex trafficking. I literally had no idea. I was completely shocked. Heartbroken. Outraged. Here I was leading a youth service trip to an orphanage in Eastern Europe to help with some of the obvious needs, like tables for the dining area and unclogging the sewer. I wasn’t looking for it. Didn’t even know it was something to be looking for. People more

Read more
Other slavery
Thursday January 18, 2018

Five Areas to Watch in 2018

Joanna Ewart-James

As we look forward to the year ahead, our Executive Director takes a moment to reflect on some key focus areas in the fight to end modern slavery in 2018, and considers where some of our greatest challenges lie. Rising Discrimination against Migrants Growing anti-migrant rhetoric leaves those who are poorly resourced, and have been unable to access increasingly restrictive legal migration routes, systematically discriminated against and so particularly vulnerable to exploitation. In the latter part of 2017 the world became aware of the existence of slave markets selling people

Read more