Karen Stauss is the Director of Programs for Free the Slaves, where she is responsible for overseeing its anti-slavery partnerships in seven countries as well as policy advocacy and business engagement. Previously, she directed the policy and legal services program at Polaris Project, a domestic anti-human trafficking organization, for several years. Immediately after law school, Karen spent a year documenting human rights abuses in Nigeria as a fellow at Human Rights Watch, before opening the organization's office in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where she lived for 2 1/2 years.
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Congress got tough on companies after the 2008 financial meltdown, enacting the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act. It included a vital section to combat exploitation in Congo, called the “Conflict Minerals” provision. The law will require companies to disclose whether their products are made with minerals from the conflict zone. At a House subcommittee hearing on Thursday, representatives will likely hear that it is hard for companies to comply... Read More
The news coming out of Congo, and all too often, Africa in general, is mostly dour and depressing. It’s an unbalanced view of a continent that is actually teeming with activism, entrepreneurism, hope, joy and beauty. With that said, as an anti-slavery organization, part of our role is to expose problems that, frankly, ARE depressing. But our message always includes HOPE that slavery can be ended, and that people most affected by slavery hold... Read More
Dear abolitionists, We need your help at the Capitol today. In July, we asked you to tell your U.S. senators to take a stand against slavery by supporting the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act. Many of you did just that, and 15 senators are now officially sponsoring the bill. Your action brought us one step closer to victory. Now it’s time to mobilize the House of Representatives. We need them to move quickly, and to make the same... Read More
Hey New Yorkers! You have a special opportunity to support Congress in removing slavery from products that we all use every day! New York City’s very own Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D), together with Reps. Chris Smith (R) of New Jersey and Jackie Speier (D) of California are introducing a bill—H.R. 2759—that will help us all take a step closer to ending slavery. Rep. Maloney will be at New York’s City Hall tomorrow, Wednesday, to make this... Read More
You may already know that slavery is connected to you. It’s in the products you buy, the clothes you wear and the car you drive. There are thousands of slaves in America, some hidden from view, others standing on street corners you pass every day. Ever wonder: What can I do to stop it? Here’s one simple but vital thing you can do: Call or e-mail your U.S. senators, and urge them to support the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act... Read More
Minerals that come from the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo turn up in electronics, in light bulbs, batteries and other everyday items. It would be hard to escape our connection to these items, and through them, our connection to slavery and conflict in Congo. Click here to try our Impact Calculator, to measure how slavery may affect you. Free the Slaves and human rights organizations in Congo have documented abuses against miners in Congo,... Read More
Editor’s note: Karen Stauss is the Director of Programs at Free the Slaves. Here, she responds to the passage of the California Supply Chain Transparency Act (SB 657), signed into law today by Governor Schwarzenegger. “We commend Governor Schwarzeneggar for signing into law the most rigorous state law requirement of transparency about slavery in companies’ supply chains. Consumers can now make the choice to buy products from companies... Read More
Craigslist took down their adult services ad, and replaced the link with a “censored” sign—which was later removed without comment. Craigslist has been allowing the advertisement of children for commercial sex around the world, including in the United States, for years. I used to work at Polaris Project, a major domestic anti-trafficking organization where I had clients, young American girls, who’d been advertised on Craigslist. Finally,... Read More
This is the first in a three part series of dispatches written by Karen Stauss, the Director of Programs for Free the Slaves. Along with FTS Partnership Manager Zorba Leslie, Stauss recently returned from a fact finding trip to the DRC, where she researched the extent of slavery in the mining industry—and how to end it. Their findings were combined with research made by FTS President Kevin Bales (also accompanied by Leslie) on an earlier trip to... Read More
