Speak Free

Wednesday November 30, 2022

E.U. Due Diligence: We’re running out of time, but this could be a game changer

Photo credit: Philip Reynaers / Photonews / Justice is Everybody’s Business European leaders are deciding on game-changing rules to stop big business from getting away with exploiting people and destroying the planet. But big business is doing everything it can to keep getting its way. As part of the Justice is Everybody’s Business campaign, we’re calling on you to remind our leaders who they're working for and tell them to put people and planet before profits. The E.U. Due Diligence Directive risks being seriously watered down At the moment, big business is getting away with a

Anti-slavery activists

Friday October 21, 2022

Open Letter to CBP on Trade Data Transparency

This week, the news broke that a group of major U.S. businesses, including Walmart, General Motors and Intel, as part of the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC), sent a proposal to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) requesting key import data not be publicly disclosed. The following is a joint open letter to the CBP Commissioner calling for the CBP's continued commitment to combating forced labor in global supply chains by rejecting this proposal. October 20, 2022 The Honorable Chris Magnus Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection 1300 Pennsylvania Ave

Survivor Stories

Tuesday October 11, 2022

Driven out of a shelter because of my mental health issues

Jessie, a trafficking survivor, shares her experiences of living in a shelter Shelters for trafficking survivors in the U.S. are often called “safehouses,” but there was nothing safe about the shelter I lived in. While living there, my medical history was used as a weapon against me. Rather than offering me support, the shelter used my mental health issues as a reason to try at all costs to push me out, even when that meant lying to the police and having them come for me with guns and handcuff me. No confidentiality: my medical records were open for all to see As a required par

Slavery-Free Goods

Friday October 7, 2022

Eight myths keeping cocoa farmers in poverty

Recent years have seen important developments on the topic of living income for cocoa farmers, and yet, poverty is still a daily reality for virtually all cocoa farmer families in West Africa. If we want to tackle child labor, deforestation and other social and environmental harms associated with the production of cocoa, we must first ensure cocoa farmers are earning a living income. Because as Antonie C. Fountain writes: When farmers must choose between feeding their family, and not cutting down old growth trees, it is not a choice. When they must choose between feeding their family or

Anti-slavery activists

Friday September 30, 2022

Designer Louise Xin’s mission to fight forced labor with fashion

Krysta Bisnauth

Photo credit: Emma Grann Louise Xin makes stunning, one-of-a-kind dresses that almost float down runways with an ethereal quality. Xin is a Chinese-Swedish couture designer who used the pandemic to realize her dream of becoming a designer. Like her clothes, her methods are quite unique. Xin is self-taught and her line is rental-only. She upcycles as much material as she can because she can’t 100% know" where her fiber comes from and "if someone says they do, mostly they're lying..." She also made her fashion debut last year with a digital runway presentation – protesting Uyghur forced labo

Environment

Tuesday September 6, 2022

EU: Tip the scales to put people and the planet before profits

Image credit: Philip Reynaers / Photonews / Justice is Everybody’s Business Time is up for companies profiting from modern slavery and environmental destruction in their global value chains. The E.U. is preparing a new due diligence law, and together with 100 other civil society and trade union organizations, the Freedom United community is mobilizing to ensure the legislation can effectively hold companies accountable. Activists have taken to the streets of Brussels to make our demands clear. On September 6, the Justice is Everybody’s Business campaign launched with a bang. Coalition m

Law & Policy

Tuesday August 23, 2022

A non-carceral approach to trafficking: Unpacking California’s Safer Streets for All Act

By Jamison Liang, Freedom United and Leigh LaChapelle, Cast The Safer Streets for All Act was signed into law on July 1, 2022 and will come into effect in January 2023. Freedom United and our partner Cast were proud to back the Safer Streets for All Act (SB 357), an essential bill just signed into law in California that will stop survivors of trafficking and sex workers from facing a criminal record simply for walking on the street. It does so by repealing Section 653.22 of California’s penal code — a harmful, archaic law that criminalizes loitering for the intent to engage in prostituti

Environment

Thursday August 18, 2022

Anti-slavery and a human rights-centered just transition

The climate crisis is here, and people are feeling the consequences now: water shortages across Europe; wildfires in Spain, Portugal, England, and California; devastating floods in South Korea; and the Horn of Africa continues to face the worst drought in over 40 years. This crisis and climate-induced events over the last decade have prompted emergency measures, bills, and increasing talk of a “just transition” – the social changes needed to move to a low-carbon economy. In October we highlighted how climate inaction is undermining anti-slavery efforts. The consequence of inaction is lea

Forced Labor

Thursday August 11, 2022

A tainted World Cup: justice for migrant workers now

In just over 100 days, the World Cup kicks off in Qatar. The tournament has been marred by a constant stream of forced labor allegations and the exploitation of Qatar’s two million migrant workers. Tasked with building the vast infrastructure and working in hotels and hospitality required to bring the world one of the biggest sporting events, this low-paid workforce is key to ensuring that the World Cup in Qatar is a glittering operation for the estimated one million visitors. Meanwhile, these workers are paid low wages, housed in cramped and dirty living conditions, prevented from leaving

Anti-slavery activists

Friday August 5, 2022

“The whole country is modern slavery” – an interview with Ji Hyun Park

Few manage to escape North Korea's horrific totalitarian regime. But, under impossible circumstances, Ji Hyun Park escaped twice, enduring a decade-long journey to freedom. The systematic violence and fear inflicted by North Korea's government on its people is well-known thanks to the bravery of defectors like Park who risked their lives fleeing North Korea. Ji Hyun Park is a celebrated author, activist and campaigner for North Korean human rights based in the U.K. She works to raise awareness of the systemic human rights abuses in the country including forced labor, arbitrary detention and