Dear Editor:
Last week’s Village Voice article, “Real Men Get Their Facts Straight,” touches on an important challenge in combating trafficking and slavery: the lack of universally-agreed on numbers about the scope of the problem. We are disappointed that the Village Voice did not devote much space to examine or endorse solutions to this aspect of child sex slavery in America. We hope the Village Voice isn’t proposing a do-nothing approach for the children who are trapped in sex slavery today.
The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, introduced on June 29, includes funding for ongoing scientifically-conducted, peer-reviewed research into the extent of slavery inside the United States. We urge the Village Voice to publically endorse this bill’s passage.
We should note that arrest records for underage prostitution might actually be the tip of the iceberg, and shouldn’t be taken as the only indicator of the extent of child sex slavery. There are often discrepancies between the number of crimes reported and the number of crimes committed. For example, the FBI’s annual Crime in the United States report often differs from the Justice Department’s National Crime Victimization Survey. The FBI relies on reported crimes; the Justice Department conducts a survey of 77,000 households.
This underscores the need for more research into child sex slavery. The methodology used by the Village Voice—conducting an informal head count of arrests—is not a scientifically-valid approach. Relying on unscientific methods to question the work of others is misguided.
The Village Voice article also mentions a bipartisan bill to provide federal funding for rescue and rehab shelters for sex slavery survivors. We would urge the Village Voice to endorse this bill’s passage.
While different anti-slavery activists quote different figures, we’re all engaged in fighting one of the world’s most important violations of basic human rights. Everyone has a role to play, including actors, authors, athletes, musicians and others who can spread the word. There’s even a role for the news media.
We would urge the Village Voice and its readers to join us in taking a public stand against slavery.
Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore were presenters at the annual Freedom Awards, honoring the heroes of the global anti-slavery movement.
We are excited to announce that our friends at the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking—an L.A.-based anti-slavery organization that gives legal advocacy, shelter, and other direct services to survivors of modern-day slavery—are holding the annual ‘From Slavery to Freedom’ Gala on May 12. The event will be co-chaired by Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher, who continue to be active in the anti-slavery movement.
Demi and Ashton, who recently founded their own anti-slavery organization, the DNA Foundation were presenters at the most recent Freedom Awards, where they presented the Fredrick Douglass Award to Tina Frundt, an American survivor of sex slavery who now runs her own anti-slavery organization, Courtney’s House. They presented this same award to Sina Vann in 2009. (See the 2010 Freedom Awards in its entirety after the jump!)
Free the Slaves and CAST are both founding members of the Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST), a group of U.S.-based anti-slavery organizations that work together to affect policy and public action to end modern-day slavery.
ATEST recently created a massive PSA campaign in New York’s Time Square: check out the campaign here.
Read more about CAST’s gala here.
And watch the Freedom awards below!
The beautiful Shamere McKenzie, an American survivor of modern-day slavery, presenting the 2010 Fredrick Douglass Freedom Award to mentor and fellow slavery survivor Tina Frundt.
Last weekend, Halogen TV premiered the 2010 Freedom Awards. We live tweeted and watched the broadcast along with the rest of you—it was just as inspiring and exciting to relive as it was to experience first hand. (I got to see what I looked like on camera, as I accepted my Zimmerman Fellowship—that part was not so fun. But I was once again moved to tears watching2010 award winners JEEVIKA, Roger Plant, Tina Frundt and 2008 winner James Kofi Annan stand on stage and speak about freedom.)
If you missed it, you can now watch the show at your leisure, because here it is, below, in its entirety! Scroll down for the footage from the Freedom Rocks, the anti-slavery movement’s best after party featuring Jason Mraz, the Makepeace Brothers, Luc and the Lovingtons, and Ghanaian reggae superstar, and current NAACP Image Award nominee Rocky Dawuni.
This awards show will make you laugh, and cry—and want to change the world.
If you’ve never seen the annual Freedom Awards, you have no idea how inspiring it is to join the growing global movement of people who love freedom. Freedom for all. If you’ve seen previous Freedom Awards—well, this edition will knock your socks off!
Premiere: Saturday, January 29, 2011 at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET on Halogen TV.
Click here to find Halogen on your cable or satellite system. Halogen will also stream the Freedom Awards on their special Slavery Sucks webpage at the same times.
Each year, Free the Slaves honors courageous heroes who risk their lives to free slaves. During the broadcast, you’ll see an actual rescue caught on videotape. You’ll see breathtaking portraits of slaves and slavery survivors by world renowned photographer Lisa Kristine. You’ll see Grammy-winner Jason Mraz sing with child slavery survivors in Africa.
Award presenters include Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker, actors Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, Camilla Belle and Vincent Kartheiser, spiritual leader Michael Bernard Beckwith and CNN.com chief Meredith Artley. The witty Sir Ken Robinson is host. Musical guests include Rickie Byars Beckwith, the Agape International Choirs and Ghanaian reggae star Rocky Dawuni.
The Freedom Rocks after-party picks up where the awards ceremony leaves off. It’s premiering on the Slavery Sucks webpage on January 29th. More music from Jason Mraz and Rocky Dawuni, along with Luc and the Lovingtons and the Makepeace Brothers. Actor Ryan Devlin is host.
Enjoy the show, then visit FreetheSlaves.net to donate. Your continuing support makes it possible for us to help people from slavery to freedom worldwide.
Details: The King of Hollywood Philanthropy:
“A Hollywood philanthropy consultant, [Trevor Neilson] pairs celebrities with causes and helps them transform from the world’s biggest stars into its most responsible citizens, one photo op at a time.
“For fees upward of $170,000 a year, he matches an A-list client to a cause, sets up a strategy and a foundation, secures meetings on Capitol Hill, brings other wealthy backers on board, and summons the media to cover every saving-the-world moment along the way. In 2006, Neilson was the PR point man in the fierce bidding war for the first exclusive photos of Angelina Jolie’s adopted Cambodian son, Maddox. As part of the deal he brokered, People magazine was obligated to report on the needs of the Cambodian people in exchange for the pictures.”
New Jersey News Room: Review: ‘A Free Man of Color Challenges Audiences’:
“‘A Free Man of Color’ is a panoramic study of the forces that reshaped 1800s New Orleans, initially a racially progressive city of Spanish-French origin, into what would become the epicenter of American slavery.
“The play also involves a naughty sex comedy that rampages in the forefront of all this intricate history.
“Sound like a challenging show to see? It is. Imagine Tom Stoppard drunk and you’ve got some notion of the attempted intellectual scope and theatrical legerdemain of Guare’s epic, which demands much from its viewers.”
Investors.com: Tech Gets Enlisted in the War Against Human Trafficking:
“The Technology and Trafficking in Persons Research Initiative will allow concerned citizens, potential trafficking victims and possibly victims themselves to text information to a hotline. The project is led by the Annenberg Center.
“Texts will be sorted by a computer and sent to appropriate agencies that could help, [director of USC's Annenberg Center Mark] Latonero says.
“The initiative focuses on the Mekong region in Southeast Asia: Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, southern China and Burma.
“‘This part of the world is a major source, transit and destination region for men, women and children forced into labor and prostitution,’ Latonero said.”
Editor’s note: There are hundreds of thousands of victims of modern day slavery here in the U.S. It would be great if an app like this were created for the domestic market—especially because there is evidence that people are being trafficked through web and mobile technologies.
Here is a media round up of Freedom Awards coverage. For all who worked tirelessly to make this event a reality: Thank you!
Daily Breeze: Anti-slavery organization moves its award night to Redondo Beach: “After outgrowing their old venue, founders of a leading anti-slavery organization are moving their star-studded award night to the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center.”
ET: Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore break the tension at the Freedom Awards: “Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore returned as presenters for the 2010 Freedom Awards for the second year, but even with the serious subject at hand they didn’t lose their sense of humor.”
Ecollywood: Celebs stand behind ‘Free the Slaves’: “A supporter of Free the Slaves since she was asked to present at the first Freedom Awards in 2008, Camilla Belle (pictured left) hopes to get the chance to travel with the organization to India or Brazil, where her mother’s family is from.”
Blabbermouth.net: Paul Stanley Interviewed at Freedom Awards: “KISS guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley and his wife, Erin Sutton, atended the 2010 Freedom Awards in Los Angeles on November 7… Each year, the non-profit organization Free the Slaves honors the best of the best with the anti-slavery movement’s highest honor: The Freedom Award.”
The 2010 Freedom Awards happening LIVE in Los Angeles, Sunday November 7 at 6 p.m. PST.
Featuring the witty master of ceremonies: Sir Ken Robinson. Music from Jason Mraz. Presenters include Forest Whitaker, Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher—and more!
The best and most promising activists in the global anti-slavery movement will be honored. A shout-out-loud celebration of triumph! Watch the Freedom Awards to see how people on the front lines work to eradicate slavery—it’s possible. We can end slavery.
Tickets are still available here. (For a 30% discount, put in the code word “FTS BLOG” when prompted!)
If you can’t make it in person, live streaming is hosted by Halogen TV and CauseCast! Or watch this space below.
Tweet #freedomawards!
As a special thank you to readers of this blog, we are offering you a 30% discount to the Freedom Awards!
When you buy your tickets, input the code: FTS Blog
The annual Freedom Awards is the biggest event of the anti-slavery movement. Sir Ken Robinson is presiding over the ceremony. Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore, Jason Mraz, Camilla Belle, Gina Bianchini, Rocky Dawuni, Meredith Artley, Vincent Kartheiser and Ryan Devlin are among the presenters.
Heroes from all over the world will be honored. You’ll be dancing in the isles, shouting out, “Freedom Rocks!” We’re calling it a soul-revving, heart-thumping, shout-out-loud celebration. And it’s a WEEK AND A HALF AWAY!
Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher, attending the 2009 Freedom Awards. Photo by Amy Graves.
Can Twitter end modern day slavery? Ashton Kutcher says Twitter has the power to give traditionally under-represented voices a major platform. And in the process, bring the issue of slavery to the masses.
At the 2010 Clinton Global Initiative today, Ashton Kutcher announced his foundation’s commitment to eradicating modern day slavery. He made the announcement during a panel discussion on how communication technology can advance human rights.
At last year’s Clinton Global Initiative the issue of modern day slavery was highlighted by Bill Clinton himself. Clinton held up FTS President Kevin Bales’ book, Ending Slavery during one of his speeches and said:
“[Kevin Bales' book] points out there are 27 million people in the world—a very small percentage of the world’s population. A small percentage of the population of the developing world. But 27 million people who are in effect, sold into bondage… everything from prostitution to forced labor in homes to forced labor in factories and fields. No continent is exempt.”
See video of Bill Clinton talking about Kevin Bales and Ending Slavery here.
He went on to say, “The Bales book I like because it’s essentially upbeat. It tells you [slavery] is a problem we can solve and here’s how to do it. But it’s hard for me to believe we can solve it on a sustainable basis unless in every country there’s an economic model that can at least minimize the inequality trap.”
Clinton said slavery is “something that I intend to take up next year.” And he was true to his word.
The issue of modern day slavery was brought up by Ashton Kutcher in a breakout session moderated by none other than Arianna Huffington, and presented by Nicholas Kristof (the NYT columnist who tirelessly writes about human trafficking and modern day slavery, and co-wrote Half The Sky with his wife Sheryl WuDunn). The panel discussion was on the topic of Democracy and Voice: Technology for Citizen Empowerment and Human Rights.
