Trafficking agents travel to remote villages, they target families suffering the most and begin to influence those families into selling children or family members. Once agents have bought the children they are sold to the cities and swallowed up into a highly sophisticated and well-orchestrated trafficking industry. Once the victim is in their hands, they are sold into sex slavery or into manual labour. They are held until their purchase price is repaid with interest, however they are paid such low wages that buying their freedom is almost impossible.

Ashton Kutcher joins in the fight against slavery and trafficking

Ashton Kutcher joins in the fight against slavery and trafficking

Ashton Kutcher is well known for his Hollywood stardom and for his success as an entrepreneur. But perhaps less known is work as an activist. When married to actress Demi Moore, Kutcher began an organisation targeting the trafficking of women into the sex trade, and over time in the prevention of cyber sex crimes. The organisation appropriately named ‘Thorn”, is focussed on identifying victims, disrupting the existing platforms and then deterring the predators’.

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Rebuilding the lives of former slaves part two – the rescue process

Rebuilding the lives of former slaves part two – the rescue process

Recently I travelled to Cebu in the Philippines and had the opportunity to spend time with an outsourcing company, DataMotivate, who are making a real difference in the restoration of the lives of girls who have been trafficked into slavery by providing career opportunities. This way the girls learn to become self-sufficient and to build a career, reducing their vulnerability to being trafficked again. In a three-part series each week I am going to share what I learned from spending time with the team at DataMotivate and the brave and talented young women that they employ.

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Time to boycott Thailand? Human rights activist found guilty of criminal charges

Time to boycott Thailand? Human rights activist found guilty of criminal charges

There was a shock outcome in Thailand last week, when human rights activist, Andy Hall, was found guilty of defamation (a criminal charge in Thailand) and cyber crimes for reporting labour abuse in the fruit canning industry.

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Three things I learned about my life at home from the slums of Mumbai

Three things I learned about my life at home from the slums of Mumbai


Mumbai is a pretty exciting place – it’s vibrant, there is a lot of history, a long seaside promenade. But the slums, the dark side of Mumbai, that is a different story. The poverty, dirt, garbage, and human waste in the slums of Mumbai are impossible to describe in words. It has to be smelled to be believed. People live piled on top of each other, many have been trafficked from the poorest parts of India to work in slave like conditions in manual labour or the sex trade.

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Is there human trafficking in your teabag?

Is there human trafficking in your teabag?



The tea plantations in India are a beautiful sight to behold. The gardens stretch for kilometres and are green and lush. Visitors travelling through on the well made roads between the gardens could be forgiven for believing that it is a paradise to live and to work in. Unfortunately nothing could be further from the truth.

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