Fighting Human trafficking with Not for Sale
Types of Modern-day Slavery and Human Trafficking
Firstly, what are the types of Modern-day slavery? It encompasses various forms of exploitation and forced labor, often involving the coercion and control of individuals. Some of the most common forms include:
Forced Labor
This involves individuals being compelled to work against their will, often under threat, coercion, or physical violence. They may work in factories, agriculture, domestic service, or other industries.
Human Trafficking
This involves the recruitment, transportation, harboring, or receipt of people through the use of force, fraud, or deception, for the purpose of exploitation, which can include forced labor or sexual exploitation.
Debt Bondage
This is where individuals are forced to work to repay a debt that often increases due to unreasonable interest rates or costs for basic necessities, making it nearly impossible to ever repay the debt.
Child Labor
Children may be subjected to labor that is harmful to their physical and mental development. They are often forced to work in hazardous conditions and denied access to education and a normal childhood.
Sex Trafficking
Victims of sex trafficking are forced into prostitution, pornography, or other forms of sexual exploitation through threats, deception, or coercion.
Domestic Servitude
Some individuals, often migrants or vulnerable populations, are held in private homes and forced to work as domestic servants under exploitative conditions.
Forced Marriage
Forced marriage involves individuals being coerced into marriage against their will, often with little or no choice in selecting their spouse or the timing of the marriage.
Child Soldiers
Children are forcibly recruited and used as soldiers in armed conflicts, exposing them to extreme violence and psychological trauma.
Organ Trafficking
This involves the illegal trade of organs, where individuals are coerced or deceived into selling their organs or the organs of deceased family members.
Child Trafficking and Child Exploitation
Children are trafficked or exploited for various purposes, including forced begging, child labor, or child soldiering.
It’s important to note that these forms of modern-day slavery often overlap, and individuals can be subjected to multiple forms of exploitation simultaneously. Eradicating modern-day slavery requires a multi-faceted approach involving legal measures, awareness campaigns, victim support services, and international cooperation. Many organizations and governments are working to combat these forms of exploitation and protect the rights and dignity of those affected.
Children wait for their ride to school in the morning at Not For Sale Thailand
How Not For Sale are combatting this issue
To that end, Not For Sale is actively working to combat various forms of modern-day slavery within the context of these different categories.
Forced Labor:
– Not For Sale actively partners with organizations and local communities to provide training and support for at-risk populations, empowering individuals to escape the cycle of forced labor.
We have been working in the Peruvian Amazon since 2009 where we’ve been supporting 10 communities, representing over 100,000 people, in an attempt to stop the men being forced into laboring in illegal gold mines and their children trafficked into larger coastal cities like Lima.
Human Trafficking:
– Not For Sale conducts awareness campaigns, collaborates with law enforcement, and offers survivor support programs to help rescue victims of human trafficking and provide them with a path to recovery.
Over the last two decades Not For Sale has been members of and lead several global coalitions that have worked to help change laws in Washington DC, the EU, Canberra, Japan, and other locations around the world.
Additionally we support work directly with survivors at our 10 projects around the globe.
However what sets us apart from other organizations is our work at the root causes of modern-day slavery: economic vulnerability through development of business and addressing climate change through initiatives such as Rare Earth.
Debt Bondage:
– Through its economic empowerment programs, Not For Sale helps individuals break free from debt bondage by providing them with alternative livelihood opportunities and financial education.
Many of the individuals our team in the Netherlands work with fell prey to their traffickers due to debt in their home country – usually Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria. A family member may fall ill and the family needs several hundred dollars to access the healthcare system. Only finding financial support from a loan shark, unknown to the victim that they’re a front for organized crime, the individual must go pay off the debt in a Western European country.
Child Labor:
– Not For Sale focuses on preventing child labor by improving access to education and supporting vulnerable families to ensure children are not forced into labor but can pursue their dreams and aspirations.
We are increasingly seeing the rise of child labor in Southeast Asia at the moment. Our projects and partners in Thailand and Vietnam are seeing an increase of children forced to work in agriculture – in fall 2023 our Thai project director was called by local law enforcement to pick up three kids in a situation of forced labor. When our team arrived there were nearly a dozen kids. Our team asked why they had been told that there were only three kids. The police confessed they were worried our team wouldn’t come if they’d told them the truth.
Sex Trafficking:
– Not For Sale works tirelessly to combat sex trafficking through education, outreach, and support services, giving survivors the tools to rebuild their lives and reintegrate into society.
In the Netherlands we run four restaurants which help provide the training and job experience for survivors of sex trafficking and other forms of exploitation.
Domestic Servitude:
– Not For Sale supports the rescue and rehabilitation of individuals trapped in domestic servitude, offering safe shelters, counseling, and job training to help them regain their independence.
Our teams in East Africa are well aware of the risk the young people we work with in the countryside face. We help run schools in Uganda and Rwanda. But after graduation many of the young people we supported have a difficult time finding jobs – something we’re also working on. Domestic servitude is something our teams spend a lot of time working to stop the youth and young adults falling into in the larger East African cities and into the Middle East.
Forced Marriage:
– Not For Sale collaborates with local organizations to raise awareness about forced marriage, providing resources and assistance for those at risk or in need of escape.
Our partners in Vietnam have rescued over 1400 victims of human trafficking. Most of the people were brought from Vietnam into China, the vast majority were there due to forced marriage.
Child Soldiers:
– Not For Sale actively supports initiatives aimed at the demobilization and rehabilitation of child soldiers, ensuring they receive the care and opportunities they deserve.
Our first engagement in Uganda in 2009 was with a school helping educate former child soldiers. Some of the kids we work with now in Uganda, DRC, and Rwanda are also recovering child soldiers.
Organ Trafficking:
– Not For Sale works in conjunction with other organizations and governments to combat organ trafficking and promote ethical organ donation practices, protecting vulnerable individuals from exploitation.
Again our teams in Southeast Asia are extremely alarmed by the rise in organ trafficking, driven by the demand for organs particularly in China.
Child Trafficking and Child Exploitation:
– Not For Sale takes a comprehensive approach to prevent child trafficking and exploitation by advocating for children’s rights, offering educational programs, and supporting survivors in their recovery journey.
Not For Sale Thailand, our first project, was and is geared toward helping kids that have been trafficked. It continues to be a project at our heart and soul as an organization.
These comments showcase Not For Sale’s multifaceted efforts to combat modern-day slavery and provide support to victims, survivors, and vulnerable communities around the world. Their dedication and collaborations are essential in the fight against these forms of exploitation.
