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Screenshot from CNN live coverage showing a side view of the presenter with blond long hair wearing a red jacket holding a microphone toward the mouth of a woman with brown hair and a black jacket in conversation. Child Slavery
Friday March 15, 2024

Freedom United exposes U.S. regression on child exploitation

Joanna Ewart-James

My Freedom Day should be everyone's, every day. Except we're facing unprecedented rollbacks in labor laws across the U.S. facilitating the exploitation of children, which of course eases the path toward forced labour. My Freedom Day March 14 is designated My Freedom Day - a day of student-driven action to raise awareness of modern slavery. This year I was at Atlanta International School, where students organized a film festival from their own submissions, activities for the youngest students, presentations for parents. We launched our campaign for a U.S. where every child is protected from

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Activists
Friday March 1, 2024

We will never stop fighting for sex workers’ rights

Ellie Finkelstein

As we observe International Sex Workers' Rights Day, news from California gives us pause to reflect. California, once hailed as a leader in progressive policies is now attempting to take a step backward in its commitment to protecting sex workers' rights. In 2022, we worked alongside partners in California to successfully repeal an archaic loitering law that targeted sex workers. We pushed for this change because laws that deny sex workers protections prevent them from being able to work safely, increasing the risk of violence and exploitation. Now, the recent legislative actions are

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five pieces of clothing on a rack with a measuring mannequin to the left. Activists
Thursday February 1, 2024

Challenging myself – and you – to rethink fashion

Kiki Lindenau

I’ve always been someone who loves to buy new clothes for the sake of buying new clothes. For the longest time, I didn’t consider the consequences this may have for the world and the people who produce these garments. Then, I met Nasreen Sheik and everything changed. Nasreen is a wonderful person - and a survivor of modern slavery. Hearing about the condition in which she was forced to make pieces of clothing by hand, earning close to nothing, and only getting paid when she finished a certain number of items per day was shocking. She spoke about getting ill due to the toxins in the

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Martin Luther King, Prisons, and the 13th Amendment Prison slavery
Friday January 12, 2024

Martin Luther King Jr., prisons, and the 13th Amendment

Robert Boneburg

In 1963, Martin Luther King wrote the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, which, more than sixty years later, speaks eloquently to the issues of that time and today. Dr. King's compelling discourse, written from the confines of a jail cell, aligns with the prison epistles of St. Paul and the writings of visionary figures like Thoreau, Gandhi, and Mandela – all of whom found inspiration behind bars.  The contemplation of these writings, and these lives, invites us to grapple with enduring questions that span human history: who faces imprisonment, and for what reasons? How are those within

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Scaling back from overconsumption Forced Labor
Tuesday December 12, 2023

5 alternative holiday traditions: All the joy, none of the forced labor

Krysta Bisnauth

'Tis the season – to buy, buy, buy. Whether it’s gifts, decorations, or outfits for holiday events, there seems to be an ever-growing list of things we need to spend on to participate in the usual festivities. This can quickly grow expensive and stressful. But the Freedom United community has an additional burden: how do we navigate the pitfalls of supply chains tainted by modern slavery without being a total Grinch? Fortunately, the Freedom United team has some ideas! Here are the top recommendations from my colleagues for a holiday season that prioritizes meaning over

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