Originally published on Open Democracy, March 13, 2017. Anyone who works as an activist knows that campaigning is a messy job. That is the nature of our work. Are there human trafficking awareness campaigns that perpetuate harmful misinformation and stereotypes? Absolutely. But there are also campaigns grounded in the lived experiences of those directly affected, tied to tangible advocacy, and effective in changing public perception. The issue is not with campaigning as a medium for meaningful change, but instead with problematic representation, assumptions, and processes behind[...]
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Tuesday April 25, 2017
My Story, My Dignity – How representing modern slavery is crucial to success
The power of shock value can be impressive. Slavery still exists? There are how many you say? But not here! Although the conversation moves on quickly from that opener, the techniques used to keep people informed and engaged on the subject, particularly in the public domain, continue to rely heavily on generating disbelief, outrage, shock or a similar psychological impact. Whilst organisations working in the fields of anti-trafficking and anti-slavery have not questioned whether generating such negative emotion is in fact most effective in securing action and building support, they have begun[...]
Wednesday September 6, 2017
Fighting Modern Slavery – ‘Ordinary People’ to the rescue
It’s a fact. We do not know precisely how many people are held in modern slavery today. We do know that the number reaches into many millions - the newly released 2016 Global Slavery Index estimates a total of 45.8million. The term modern slavery has never been more frequently used by the media and within legislative and corporate spheres. Despite this, the pervasive low awareness within our largely globalised, modern society, allows this pernicious crime to thrive. Ten thousand new laws and audits will not make great change; we need society to recognise modern slavery for what it is - a[...]
Tuesday August 29, 2017
Without knowledge there can be no progress in the fight against modern slavery
We will never be able to combat modern forms of slavery if people aren’t aware that modern slavery exists. There are still too many people in the world today who incorrectly believe that slavery came to an end long ago. Public awareness campaigns are therefore essential, since if modern slavery is not acknowledged, there is little chance of making significant progress tackling this crime. A lack of awareness means neighbors will not recognize the circumstances of the domestic worker next door. Traffickers will make their profits right under the noses of authorities. Victims[...]
Monday July 17, 2017
The highs and lows of the 2017 TIP Report
Last week, the U.S. Department of State delivered its annual Trafficking in Persons report. Though the report is much anticipated each year by anti-trafficking advocates, this year drew extra attention as the first report released by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in the Trump administration, and in the wake of two straight years of allegations that political considerations had weighted some country rankings. There is much in this report for which the State Department should be commended, in particular: Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan retain their Tier 3 ranking. Both Central Asian[...]
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