Human Trafficking

In today’s fast-moving world, public transportation is an essential part of our daily lives. In 2019 alone, people across the United States took nearly 10 billion trips on public transportation according to the American Public Transportation Association. Public transit is also a common method child traffickers use to move their victims. Knowing this, we must be aware of how this access can be exploited by putting our most vulnerable population at risk: our children. According to the Polaris Project – detailed in their report “A Roadmap for Systems and Industries to Prevent and Disrupt Human Trafficking,” 1 in 3 human trafficking survivors report utilizing public buses, and 1 in 5 used subways or metros while being trafficked. Child sex trafficking is a disturbing reality but there are ways you can take to disrupt it. Our newly launched, federally-funded campaign, Transit Against Child Trafficking (TACT) is dedicated to spreading awareness and…

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…

Navigating the busy hotel with grace and poise, Payal strides confidently down the polished corridors of a prestigious 5-star resort. Her reflection in the hallway mirror catches her attention. “I am beautifully and wonderfully made.” She says to herself – finally believing it to her core. A flood of gratefulness brings a gentle comfort as she recounts what her life could have been had you not helped her escape the red-light districts of Mumbai. At a young age Payal’s mother, a sex worker, recognized the harm Payal faced if she stayed with her. The constant stream of dangerous men in their home was no environment a little girl should have to grow up in. So her mother bravely brought her to the India Partner’s safe house to be raised in safety. The safe house became an extended family that loved and took care of her. She grew up there without…

Last year Free The Slaves joined HopeBox, an NGO based in Vietnam, to serve survivors of domestic abuse and slavery. While working in the city of Hanoi, Free The Slaves and Hope Box had the privilege of meeting Tina*. This is Tina’s story of overcoming fear and finding freedom with FTS. All the abuse started when her husband accused Tina of seeing another man. This later turned into constant accusations and heated arguments that resulted in physical and sexual abuse. Oftentimes, when she refused to follow her husband’s sexual demands, he became violent toward her. At the height of the pandemic, her husband forced her to work for various employers doing house chores. Her husband would collect the money for every task she finished directly from her employers. After work, she needed to go home right away to serve her husband and learned that she must not set her foot…

We know that knowledge is power. And when it comes to child trafficking, it’s the strongest weapon girls and communities possess to protect themselves from traffickers. But how do you educate girls about such a serious and frightening subject?

Nisha at the age of 13 was given in marriage to an older man who regularly abused her. Soon after the marriage they had a daughter and the cycle of abuse continued. Disappointed, angry, and blaming Nisha for giving him a daughter instead of a son, her husband threw them out. Nisha was young, alone, and trying to provide for herself and her daughter. That made her a perfect target for working the red-light district. Nisha worked in the sex trade, believing she had to do it to survive. Through a dental camp, Nisha got connected with our partners in India. A relationship was established and nurtured. Through mentoring Nisha began to believe that she could dream of a better future for her and her daughter. Our programs were about to give them financial freedom and gave her a way out. They were given them food, clothes, housing, and an…