For more than a decade, fighting slavery has been a unified effort by both the democrats and republicans in the U.S. government. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act, considered to be the cornerstone of anti-slavery legislation, passed into law in 2000. It was a groundbreaking law—the first federal legislation that tackled the issue of modern-day slavery in a comprehensive way.

Since then, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) has been routinely renewed every three years.

This year, however, the law was not reauthorized.

The Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST)—a coalition of U.S.-based anti-slavery organizations, which Free the Slaves is a part of—sent a letter to the congressional leadership urging the passage of the TVPRA. Here’s an excerpt:

For well over a decade, the work to combat modern-day slavery and human trafficking has been an example of Congress’s ability to put partisanship aside in the interest of tackling a difficult and seemingly intractable problem. That willingness to be thoughtful, practical, and balanced in approach has proven successful in this work, and made tremendous contributions to the fight against this heinous crime. Unfortunately, these recent political developments jeopardize this pragmatic balance in favor of a partisan confrontation that undermines the achievement of our joint goal of ending modern-day slavery in the United States and around the world.

Read our letter in its entirely here.

 

There’s slavery in every shopping mall in America. From cocoa, coffee and clothing—to cars, computers and cell phones—many products sold in the U.S. are tainted by slavery. Sometimes it’s sweatshop slavery where goods are manufactured. Other times, it’s brutal child slavery at plantations and mines where commodities and raw materials come from.

The latest video from Free the Slaves is a powerful and practical business briefing. “Becoming a Slavery-Free Business” is intended to motivate corporations to investigate if their products are tainted by slavery, and seek ways to get the slavery out.

Consumers, investors and regulators want to remove slavery from U.S. store shelves. California has already enacted rules that will soon affect thousands of products sold in America’s most populous state. A national law is pending in Congress.

“Becoming a Slavery-Free Business” is available for sale via the Free the Slaves website. It will help prepare companies, industries and trade associations for the growing groundswell of public sentiment to provide slavery-free products. If you’re in business, you should order a copy today. Proceeds help fight slavery around the globe.

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 improvements in their bill that we’ve already asked for in the Senate.

Let’s break our connection to slavery! We need to remove it from the products we buy, the clothes we wear and the cars we drive. There are thousands of slaves in America and millions more around the world.

What can you do? Call or e-mail your U.S. representative. Urge them to support the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (H.R.2830). It’s easy to find your representative’s contact info at the top right corner of the House of Representatives website.

Here’s what you can say to their receptionists, aides or voicemails:

“My name is ___ and I live in your district. I’m calling to ask the congressman / congresswoman to co-sponsor H.R.2830, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA). I also want to ask him / her to strengthen the act, by requiring major companies to disclose on their websites and in annual reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission what they’re doing to end trafficking and slavery. The congressman / congresswoman can do this by including provisions of H.R.2759, the Business Transparency on Slavery and Trafficking Act, into the TVPRA.”

The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act ensures the U.S. will remain a world leader in combating slavery. It directs authorities to raid brothels and sweatshops, freeing slaves and prosecuting slaveholders. It enables rescue shelters and rehabilitation programs to operate, inside the U.S. and overseas. The act helps Free the Slaves conduct programs that you support in India and Haiti.

This landmark anti-slavery initiative was created by Congress 10 years ago, but the act expires soon and must be renewed. Any delay could jeopardize the remarkable progress the U.S. has made.

This critical legislation is pending right now. Your voice could make the difference in ensuring the U.S. continues to fight trafficking and slavery. Your representative needs to hear from you today.

Thanks for your continued support.

Karen Stauss

Director of Programs

Free the Slaves

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 (S.1301).

This critical legislation is pending in the Senate right now. Your voice could make the difference in ensuring the U.S. continues to fight trafficking and slavery.

The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act ensures the U.S. will remain a world leader in combating slavery.

It directs authorities to raid brothels and sweatshops, freeing slaves and prosecuting slaveholders. It enables rescue shelters and rehabilitation programs to operate, inside the U.S. and overseas. The Act helps Free the Slaves conduct programs that you support in India and Haiti.

This landmark anti-slavery initiative was created by Congress years ago, but the Act expires soon and must be renewed. Any delay could jeopardize the remarkable progress the U.S. has made.

It’s easy to find your senators’ contact info at the top right corner of the Senate’s website. Here’s what you can say to their receptionists, aides or voicemails:

“My name is ___ and I live in (your state). I’m calling to ask the senator to co-sponsor S.1301, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act. I also would like the senator to support strengthening the Act, by requiring major companies to disclose on their websites and in annual reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission what they’re doing to end trafficking and slavery.”

The battle against slavery has always been a bipartisan effort that brings lawmakers together, even in polarized times. Senators are working on the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act behind the scenes, even though other issues are center stage at the moment. Your senators need to hear from you now. Please contact them today.

Thanks for your continued support.

Because it deserves more attention—and I didn’t give it its proper due when I blogged about this last week—I’d like to put a magnifying glass to a couple of quotes from Free the Slaves’ Director of Programs Karen Stauss that were featured in Vanity Fair’s recent feature on modern slavery in the U.S.

Stauss touched upon the psychological complexities that can keep a victim of sex slavery in his or her place. For one, there is not enough awareness among sex industry consumers that the prostitute they have bought may not be there of his or her own volition. Says Stauss: “Johns don’t understand what they’re contributing to. It never occurs to them that the woman who is smiling is being abused. They don’t know what’s going on—and they don’t care.”

Another point is that survivors of sex slavery often suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, and, as Vanity Fair’s article points out, “have Stockholm-syndrom-like ‘trauma bonds’ with their pimps.”

This phenomena is illustrated in the story of Tina Frundt, a 2010 Free the Slaves Freedom Award winner, who survived sex slavery in her teenaged years. She was told by her pimp that if she ever went to the police, they would treat her like a criminal. And that is exactly what transpired. She was arrested and charged with prostitution—this got her out of slavery, but she had the challenge of fighting for her innocence in the eyes of the law.

There is also fear. Stauss told Vanity Fair, “Victims are terrified to testify [in court]. It makes it harder to bring a case.”

Read the article in full here.

And, support the passage of the 2011 Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act. This legislation is the cornerstone of anti-slavery law both domestically and internationally. Created in 2000 (and reauthorized every two years since), it helps provide legal protection and restitution for survivors of slavery, ensures traffickers can be prosecuted, and provides funds to research the extent of slavery around the world.

Tawney Bevacqua is Free the Slaves’ outreach coordinator. She is also the face of the ‘Artists Against Slavery’ blog—a sub-section of the FTSblog—in which she explores how artists and creative professionals are using their talents to help end slavery.

Thousands of people are brought into the U.S. every year to be used as slaves. Thousands more U.S. citizens are enslaved within our borders. Even though it’s all around us and we are connected to it through the products we use every day, modern-day slavery is a hidden crime, and we can sometimes feel helpless against it. But there are actions you can take now to help eradicate slavery. Raising awareness is an important step you can take. It’s still not universally recognized that real slavery exists today. Experience tells us that when people find out about slavery, they are inspired to work to eradicate it. Raising funds to help reputable anti-slavery organizations like Free the Slaves is also an important action. Donations help us continue our work.

Here is a list of three concrete things you can do to help bring an end to modern-day slavery:

SPREAD THE WORD:

Tag Free the Slaves in a facebook status asking your friends to join in on the fights against modern day slavery.

SIGN THIS PETITION:

The landmark Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 is perhaps the most important piece of U.S. legislation to combat modern-day slavery. The TVPA is up for renewal this year, and we need your help to ensure this important legislation is continued. In partnership with Change.org, ATEST has started a petition urging President Obama, Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Harry Reid to make the eradication of slavery a priority—and renew the TVPA. Sign the petition urging the U.S. government to continue the TVPRA

STAY INFORMED:

We started a blog so it would be easy for you to get the latest on slavery in the news, events around the world, and ways for you to help. Make the Free the Slaves blog your homepage!

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If you have creative ways to help end slavery share them on our facebook wall or email me at Tawney@freetheslaves.net

Free the Slaves, in conjunction with the Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST), a coalition of 12 U.S.-based organizations, is asking Congressmen and women to submit requests to the Appropriations Committee for anti-slavery programs that were authorized under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA)of 2008.

Sign the petition urging the U.S. government to continue the TVPRA

In particular, we are requesting funding for accounts under the State-Foreign Operations, Labor-HHS, and CJS bills.

See here, here, and here for ATEST’s letters (in PDF form) outlining the specific accounts and amounts requested.

In order to make this a success, we NEED YOUR HELP.

We ask that you call your representative with the simple message to “support appropriations under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act”.

The deadline for submitting these requests to the relevant subcommittees is Friday, May 20, so please make contact by WEDNESDAY, MAY 18.

Thank you for your support!

Last week we told  you about the groundbreaking anti-slavery PSA that went up in Times Square. Today, we’ve got a photo to show you how massive this ad is!

See for yourself in the photo to the left—or, better yet, if you’re in New York City, go see it live!

The PSA was produced by the Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST), a coalition of U.S.-based anti-slavery groups, of which Free the Slaves is a founding member.

This year, ATEST will be working hard to make sure that Congress will renew the cornerstone of U.S. and global anti-slavery legislation: the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.

Let Obama know that the passage of TVPRA is of crucial importance! Sign ATEST’s petition and find out more about their “slavery lives” campaign here!

And watch video of the PSA here!

 

If you are in Times Square today, you will be able to see the above message live. The Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST), a coalition of U.S.-based anti-slavery groups—of which Free the Slaves is a founding member—has set up this PSA to be run in the New York City hot spot. The ad will spread the message that “slavery lives” to potentially millions of people. (According to Times Square’s website, 500,000 people go through Times Square every day, and more than 10 million viewers see Times Square through television broadcasts!)

Read Free the Slaves’ action agenda for the Obama administration.

In a press release about this PSA, ATEST says “‘Slavery Lives,’ come[s] at a critical time for those who seek to end all forms of human trafficking and modern-day slavery. In the coming months, the Obama administration and Congress will debate renewal of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPRA), the cornerstone of U.S. efforts to combat human trafficking in the United States and around the world.”

Let Obama know that the passage of TVPRA is of crucial importance! Sign ATEST’s petition and find out more about their “slavery lives” campaign here!

And watch the second “Slavery Lives” PSA after the jump!

Read More >>

It’s Human Trafficking Awareness Month. And today is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. In honor of this, the Alliance to End Slavery & Trafficking (ATEST), a coalition of leading U.S.-based anti-slavery organizations—of which Free the Slaves is a founding member—published ads in Washington Post, Politico, and Roll Call bringing attention to the existence of modern-day slavery, and calling for the renewal of the groundbreaking Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA).

The TVPA of 2000 is, as Amanda Kloer from Change.org says, the “cornerstone of U.S. efforts to combat human trafficking in the United States and around the world.” The law recognizes human trafficking as a crime, provides protections for victims, and helps prevent and eradicate modern day slavery through public awareness programs and international monitoring.

Now, the TVPA is up for renewal. And we need your help to ensure that this important legislation is continued. In partnership with Change.org, ATEST has started a petition urging President Obama, Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Harry Reid to make the eradication of slavery a priority—and renew the TVPA.

Sign the petition today!