Today, millions of children, women and men are victimized by slavery. The statistics are staggering: There are more people enslaved today than were during the entire trans-Atlantic slave trade. But more and more activists are standing up to support the abolition of slavery around the world. The United States government has declared January to be National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month – and President Obama has called on Americans to "recommit...to stopping the human traffickers who ply this horrific trade." » Holly Burkhalter, IJM VP of Government Relations, on the Presidential Proclamation Join IJM in putting an end to slavery — and play a role in the battle for justice in our time. 4 Practical Things You Can Do To Join the Modern-Day Abolition Movement this Month1 - DEMAND CHANGE Let your elected officials know that the victims of human trafficking matter to you. Share your support for the Child Protection Compact Act — vital new legislation designed to help trafficking-burdened countries to stand up to the traffickers and pimps who victimize children. Visit IJM's Justice Campaigns for Abolition Postcards and other resources to get started. 2 - BECOME AN IJM FREEDOM PARTNER Become intimately involved with the world of IJM by investing in specific areas of our abolition work. Updates and downloads from the field keep Freedom Partners up-to-date on important developments in their areas of investment. Join IJM's global fight against slavery and violent oppression in a way never before possible. 3 - MOBILIZE YOUR COMMUNITY Host a screening of IJM’s new documentary At the End of Slavery. The film takes you deep into the underworld of human trafficking through IJM’s frontline investigations and shares real solutions for putting an end to this brutal trade. IJM has created a kit that provides everything you need to screen the film and mobilize an abolition movement in your circle of friends, school, church or community. 4 - EDUCATE YOURSELF Public ignorance and apathy are traffickers' greatest assets. Start a book club and read Good News About Injustice by IJM President Gary Haugen. Create an IJM Campus Chapter at your school. Explore IJM’s Web site for more ideas to GET INVOLVED. Resources to get you started
How does IJM respond to modern-day slavery? IJM intervenes on behalf of individual victims of human trafficking around the world; but we don’t act alone. Using a collaborative casework model, IJM partners with local authorities to secure the protection of the law for trafficking victims. IJM investigators, social workers and lawyers work to ensure that victims are freed, that their needs are met as they begin new lives in freedom, and that their perpetrators are prosecuted under local laws. By freeing victims and prosecuting their perpetrators, IJM operations increase the risk and decrease the profitability of trafficking. We believe this holistic approach will lead to the structural transformation of public justice systems the poor desperately need, in a way that unilateral action or victim buy-outs can’t. In our twelve years of work in the field, we’ve learned many lessons. The most important comes from the thousands of victims we’ve assisted themselves: healing and hope are possible. Join us in the fight.  Madesh with his family |
