Juggling the stresses of work and family care has become even more complex in the digital age. That’s why many employees turn to parent and caregiving Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) at their workplace to find tips for maintaining work-life balance, connecting with other parents and caregivers, and learning how to keep their kids healthy and safe. As HR and corporate responsibility professionals, how can you make sure the parents of your workplace feel supported and have the resources they need to succeed, especially through ERGs?
A partnership with the International Justice Mission (IJM) can put your commitment into action. IJM rescues people from human trafficking, modern-day slavery, and violence. They protect survivors so they can thrive without fear and bring their traffickers to justice. In the digital age, this support has extended to protecting children from online sexual exploitation.
Partnering with IJM in your workplace has a two-fold benefit: you’re able to support the protection of exploited children and adults worldwide while also keeping your workforce informed about the role they play in keeping their own kids safe. As exploitation increasingly moves to online avenues, this type of partnership is crucial for companies in the tech space, companies with parent ERGs, or any workplace looking to make a difference for exploited people everywhere.
Engagement offering: Keeping Kids Safe Online
Twenty percent of 9 to 17-year-olds report having an online sexual interaction with someone they believed to be an adult. That reality is sobering. But here’s the good news: you are not alone. IJM offers resource packets that can help parents navigate conversations about this topic with the children in their lives to keep them safe and informed.
As a quick first step, you can download the guide now to share as a resource for your parent ERGs: Keeping Kids Safe Online: A practical guide for parents and grandparents in a digital world.
You can also invite an IJM speaker to engage your employees through a live or virtual session about online child protection, human trafficking, or any of IJM’s core areas of work. These sessions are especially valuable for companies in tech and digital industries, where employees have a direct connection to the tools and platforms that can help keep children safe.
Through its Center to End Online Sexual Exploitation of Children, IJM partners with NGOs, governments, and industries to expose and stop online sexual exploitation of children around the world. They combat livestreamed child sexual abuse that uses globally accessible technology and financial platforms, targets people vulnerable to this crime, and involves remote offenders who can be anywhere in the world.
By sharing IJM’s expertise with your employees, you help them understand how their professional roles and personal lives intersect with this global challenge — and how they can be part of the solution.
Learn more about IJM’s work to combat online sexual exploitation here and discover more about how else your workplace can get involved with IJM here.
Explore the impact
When Ruby* was just 14 years old, her parents died, leaving her grieving and alone on their family farm in the Philippines. She thought her solitary life would end when a recruiter sent her a private message on social media offering her a job with their staff in a computer shop. The recruiter won her trust by offering free board and lodging while she worked for them, even offering to pay for the travel fare from her farm to the city of Pampanga, some 400 miles away.
The recruiter and her partner even sent an assistant to pick her up from the port. Imagine Ruby’s dismay when she discovered that the “job” she was about to do was far from what she was offered. Instead of working in a computer shop, she was locked in a house with other young girls and forced to perform sex acts in front of a web camera for paying customers around the world.
Ruby lost hope of being rescued and attempted to escape once when she heard sirens outside. She cried out for help, but she was threatened with a kitchen knife by one of her captors. “At that point, I have lost all hope of escape,” Ruby remembers.
Around that time, IJM helped Philippine authorities pinpoint Ruby’s location and rescued her along with five other girls enslaved in the house. The couple who ran the illegal operation were sentenced to 15 years in prison. IJM placed Ruby in an aftercare home where she still lives today as she studies in college. She is even considering seeking a law degree with the hope of helping other girls who are trapped in exploitation and abuse. She has grown into an empowered Survivor Leader who uses her voice to help other victims of modern slavery.
Need help?
Global Impact can help your company connect with IJM and bring these important conversations to your workplace. From hosting speakers to sharing free resources with your ERGs, we’ll help you foster a culture of compassion, awareness, and impact.
Let us help you inspire greater giving and foster a culture of social responsibility within your organization. Reach out today to get started!