FIRST ANNUAL DATA TO DISRUPT TRAFFICKING AWARDS IN LONDON

Last night, STOP THE TRAFFIK Global hosted the first-ever Data to Disrupt Trafficking Awards in London at Amazon HQ. We celebrated a group of inspirational organisations, projects and individuals that have all acted against trafficking through the use of data and technology and were truly honoured to be joined by so many partners and friends from across the sector.

Although Data to Disrupt Trafficking took the form of an awards ceremony, the message that came through loud and clear was that transparency and trust are key to long-term change. The evening was about far more than simply winning or losing – adopting that narrative means we have already lost the fight. This was about collaborating and sharing knowledge.

We talk a great deal about disrupting human trafficking, however through the continued development of our shared partnerships we must all strive for a future where trafficking is not only disrupted but eradicated altogether.

As Dr James Cockayne, Anti-slavery Commissioner for New South Wales, put it: “Trafficking is a failure of prevention, empathy and community. We will only achieve our goals through collective action and systems change.”

Our CEO, Ruth Dearnley, said: “We come together today to recognise the investment in using technology and data to unlock our shared future in disrupting trafficking. But as we gather, I call us all to consider a commitment to a future ahead that will see a turning point in uncovering this picture we all need to shine the light of transparency, raising the risk to the traffickers' business model.

“We will only achieve this by releasing the millions of stories that belong to the millions of survivors, so they paint the richest picture we have ever seen of how traffickers and their networks are at work in the world.”

The full list of award winners follows:

Collaborative Disruption – IBM Tech 4 Good

Disruption of Supply – University of Nottingham Rights Lab

Disruption of Recruitment – eLiberare

Disruption of Money – Bank of Ireland

Lived-Experience Led Disruption – Azadi Kenya

Lifetime achievement award – Neil Giles

We will be posting further information on our social media channels in the coming days, so keep an eye out for more news on the event.