Speak Free

Tuesday August 2, 2022

Supporting LGBTQ+ survivors

This blog post is reposted from Freedom Network USA. You can find the original post here. How to support LGBTQ+ youth trafficking survivors? LGBTQ+ youth are disproportionately vulnerable to trafficking due to homophobia and transphobia. Many LGBTQ+ youth grow up in unsupportive households, which can cause a traumatic upbringing. Some youth are kicked out of their house or are forced to run away when they come out. This can lead to increased vulnerability due to trauma and/or a lack of housing. Support more LGBTQ+ welcoming or centered shelters When LGBTQ+ youth are kicked out of their home

Human trafficking

Thursday June 16, 2022

Europe knows what happens to us in Libya

My name is Tesfay* and I was born in Eritrea. When I finished high school, I was made to work as a soldier for the National Service and the Eritrean Airforce. After a few years, I decided to flee to escape the indefinite military service forced on men in my country. This is the story of my experiences in Libya. European governments know what happens to us after the Libyan Coast Guard returns us to Libya. They support them to return us anyway. I want you to know too. The journey I fled to Sudan first, but life was hard there. We were harassed regularly by the police. In 2017, I continued on to

Anti-slavery activists

Tuesday June 14, 2022

“Until we win”: Domestic workers’ relentless fight against exploitation

“[With the Freedom United] petition I feel like I have people behind me. I feel so strong. […] I feel like people are starting to hear our voice. […] And I hope we don’t stop there, we need to do more and more until we win.” – Lucy Turay, domestic worker campaigner and founder of Domestic Worker Advocacy Network Domestic work is a part of all our lives. Domestic work is childcare, cleaning, looking after the elderly, providing care for those who are ill, cooking, maintaining a home. Domestic work is difficult, requires long hours, is often undervalued and underpaid – and it is a

Activists

Tuesday June 7, 2022

Questioning our assumptions about child labor

It’s the time of year again when emotive and resolute messages about stamping out the evil of child labor begin to pop up suddenly on your newsfeed: June 12 is World Day Against Child Labor. You’ll likely be hearing about how we have just three years left to meet the well-intentioned goal of eliminating all child labor by 2025, as set out in Target 8.7 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The Freedom United community actively campaigns to protect children from exploitation, including trafficking and modern slavery. As people join this cause, they often have

Law & Policy

Thursday May 12, 2022

Joint Letter to President Biden Re: Thailand’s Abusive Draft Law on Not-For-Profit Organizations

May 12, 2022 President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. The White House Washington, DC Re: Thailand’s abusive draft law on not-for-profit organizations Dear President Biden, We, the undersigned non-profit organizations, are writing to express our serious concerns regarding Thailand’s Draft Act on the Operations of Not-for-Profit Organizations, which the Thai Cabinet approved in principle on January 4, 2022. Passage of this draft law would systematically violate the rights to freedom of association and freedom of expression of non-profit groups, so we urge you to call on the Thai government to scra

Child Slavery

Thursday April 21, 2022

Climate and cocoa: why an anti-modern slavery movement is talking about the environment

At the time of writing, almost 180,000 people within the Freedom United community are calling for change from major chocolate companies. Those changes include a call for an end to deforestation and a rapid reduction of pesticide usage. So why is an anti-modern slavery community pushing for improved environmental protection policies in the cocoa sector? Drivers of the climate crisis and hazardous child labor are mutually reinforcing Pesticides endanger children The cocoa sector has become more dependent on pesticides in recent decades as a means of increasing yields. As a result, people w

Law & Policy

Wednesday April 20, 2022

FAQ: The UK Business, Human Rights, and Environment Act

Jamison Liang

Ready for ethical supply chains free from modern slavery, human rights abuses, and environmental harm? So are we. Freedom United and our partner Corporate Justice Coalition (CJC) are campaigning for a game-changing new law — the Business, Human Rights, and Environment Act. Below is a primer on principal elements of the law we're calling for and why it is crucial for the UK is to hold abusive corporations to account and provide access to justice for victims. Why do we need a new corporate accountability law? Negative human rights and environmental impacts are embedded in the supply chains of

Slavery-Free Goods

Wednesday April 6, 2022

The Chocolate Scorecard: Putting more ethical chocolate on the menu

Whether we’re celebrating or commiserating, chocolate is a sweet and familiar companion for many of us. But when we take the time to learn about cocoa’s global value chain, the social and environmental costs it currently entails leave a bitter taste in our mouths. The reality is that the chocolate industry’s current business model leaves cocoa farmers living below the poverty line. To meet production demands and lift themselves out of poverty, farmers often turn to using children as a cheap labor source. Many children working in cocoa carry out hazardous tasks, such as clearing for

Survivor Stories

Wednesday March 23, 2022

To my old master: A former slave writes to his old owner and tells him to get stuffed

This letter is reshared from Letters of Note: In 1864, after 32 long years in the service of his master, Jourdon Anderson and his wife, Amanda, escaped a life of slavery when Union Army soldiers freed them from the plantation on which they had been working so tirelessly. They grasped the opportunity with vigour, quickly moved to Ohio where Jourdon could find paid work with which to support his growing family, and didn’t look back. Then, a year later, shortly after the end of the Civil War, Jourdon received a desperate letter from Patrick Henry Anderson, the man who used to own him, in whic

Victories

Thursday March 10, 2022

Historic end to state-imposed forced labor in Uzbekistan cotton

Today we are celebrating news that proves making a noise, signing petitions, and posting on social media does lead to change. The system of state-imposed forced labor in Uzbekistan’s cotton industry has ended. Freedom United, together with our colleagues the Cotton Campaign, announces the lifting of the global boycott of Uzbek cotton. This announcement comes as the Uzbek Forum for Human Rights releases its report findings of the 2021 harvest. This breakthrough has come about because of the persistent and coordinated engagement by Uzbek activists, advocates like you who called directly on