The 2023 Global Slavery Index Released – Network Against Human Trafficking and Slavery

The 2023 Global Slavery Index Released

The 2023 Global Slavery Index reports that there has been a 10 million victim increase in modern slavery/human trafficking (MS/HT) over the last five years. On any given day there are 50 million people living in MS/HT and the world's wealthiest economies are importing almost US$468 billion worth of products at risk of being made with forced labor. The worsening situation has been brought about by factors such as armed conflicts, climate change, and the COVID-19 pandemic. While countries such as Australia, Canada, Germany, and Norway have introduced anti-slavery legislation during the last five years, on the whole government action has stagnated worldwide.

The report outlines 5 recommendations for government action to address modern slavery:

1. Focus on prevention and protection for vulnerable populations by providing primary and secondary education for all children, including girls.
2. Implement stronger measures to combat forced labor in public and private supply chains by introducing legislation to stop governments and businesses from sourcing goods or services linked to modern slavery.
3. Embed anti-slavery measures in humanitarian and crisis responses and ensure that human rights are embedded in efforts to build a green economy.
4. Prioritize human rights when engaging with repressive regimes by conducting due diligence to ensure that any trade, business, or investment is not contributing to or benefitting from state-imposed forced labor, including where it occurs in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China.
5. Insure effective civil and criminal protections in legislation to tackle forced and child marriage, including raising the age of marriage to 18 for all people with no exceptions.

Download a copy of the 2023 Global Slavery index here. It is 172 pages but the Executive Summary is only three pages and worth a read: https://humantraffickingsearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Global-Slavery-Index-2023.pdf

Below are informative graphs from the Global Slavery Index.

The graph above gives information on both the most government action and the least government action taken on MS/HT. The governments are still not taking enough action and more people are living in modern-day slavery.

The graph above shows the amount of money spent on at-risk goods imported by the G20. A total of $468 billion US dollars are being spent on imported goods that are at risk of being connected to MS/HT. Governments and businesses must do more to tackle slavery in supply chains.

New Anti-Trafficking Movie in Iowa Theaters for One Day Only, July 4th

We wanted to inform you of a human trafficking movie that is being shown across the USA for one day only on July 4th. The movie is called Sound of Freedom, produced by the nonprofit organization, Operation Underground Railroad. The movie is about a boy that was rescued from ruthless child traffickers, and a federal agent learns the boy's sister is still captive and decides to embark on a dangerous mission to save her. To watch the trailer and view local Iowa showtimes in your area, click this link:

https://www.angel.com/tickets/sound-of-freedom?variation=july_3

North and Central Iowa Movie Theaters to Show Gridshock

Melody Stone leads the North and Central Iowa Coalition Against Human Trafficking. This summer and fall the coalition is promoting the award-winning one-hour documentary “Gridshock” about Sex Trafficking in Iowa. The coalition is partnering with theaters in the Central and Northern Iowa regions to feature a free one-time showing of this riveting movie portraying what human trafficking looks like in Iowa. Afterward, Melody Stone will lead a Q&A time and resource table.

This is the fastest-growing worldwide criminal enterprise surpassing drugs and illegal weapons. Very often it is our youth who are being targeted by traffickers. The goal of a coalition is to join with local partners to create stronger, safe communities. Would you be willing to bring this important documentary to your theater? Melody Stone has a license to show “Gridshock” so all you need to do is set a date and time. Melody Stone will send you a pdf flyer that can be used to promote and advertise this in your community.

Please contact Melody at her cell: (808)-430-5710 or email: [email protected]

Plans for Pilot Program for Short-Term Emergency Victim Care

Editors Note: The following announcement is taken from Dorothy's House Newsletter.

Expansion in Services at Dorothy's House located in Des Moines, IA. More than half of the referrals we receive are from women who ask, “can I get a bed tonight?”. Historically, the answer to that question has been “no.” While we try to re-direct to other services, there are very few options available and these women do not have the resources to call around–they are truly in life-and-death crisis mode.

Clearly, our team became very weary saying “no” to this population, so this summer, we will be expanding our continuum of care by offering short-term crisis services. There are limited resources in the nation for this population and most limit stays to 48 hours.

It is very difficult to solve any problems other than rest, food and a hot shower in that amount of time, so we will be taking a more open-ended approach to test our way into what the scale and scope of need are while maintaining safety for our staff and property.

If you are interested in learning more, please reach out to [email protected].

Garden Gate Ranch Announces Plans for Pathway House

Editors note: The following announcement is from Brenda Long, Executive Director of Garden Gate Ranch located in Central Iowa. Other than State funded sexual assault and domestic abuse shelters, Iowa has no emergency shelters exclusively for sex trafficking survivors. Pathway House would be the first of its kind.

What follows is the announcement: I once received a call for help from a survivor hiding behind a dumpster somewhere in Des Moines. She had just escaped her trafficker, but she could not go home or to the local shelter. She knew her trafficker would find her there, and he had threatened to harm her family. What this brave woman needed in that moment was a secure home ready to take her in immediately. A place where she could sleep in safety, fill her belly with good food, and take the time to figure out her next steps. But such a home did not exist, and I never heard from this woman again.

There are currently zero immediate rescue shelters for sex-trafficked women in Iowa, and it is time for that to change. Since Garden Gate Ranch's inception, we have dreamed of the addition of an immediate rescue home, and we believe that this is the year for that dream to come true.

The Pathway House will be a 24-hour immediate rescue home for sexually exploited women that will work with local community services and collaborate with other residential homes across the U.S. to offer each woman choices in her recovery. While continuing restoration programs typically require an approval process, admittance to the Pathway House will be truly immediate. The speed at which she can move from the street and into a safe haven will help keep her out of the hands of predators, and the comfort she finds within will allow her the space to rest, breathe and consider her next steps.

This project will be costly, but her life is worth every cent. As a community, we can provide a safe haven for women like the survivor who called me as she hid. Together, we can open the first immediate rescue home for sex-trafficked women in our state. Together, we can make history.

For more information or to help make the Pathway House a reality, contact Brenda Long at [email protected]

Child Sex Trafficking – Information You Need from the National Trafficking Hotline

What most people think they know about child sex trafficking generally involves stories – young girls and boys being kidnapped by strangers, forced into windowless vans, then driven to another city or state where they are kept drugged and chained in a brothel.

While situations like these do exist, they are more of an exception than the rule. A study analyzing press releases and online media reports from over a nine-year period found that fewer than 10 percent of cases involved kidnapping. The rest were far more complicated, far less “Hollywood.” The danger of these misconceptions is that while we are on high alert for windowless vans and teaching our children about stranger danger, we may well be missing out on what is really going on. There is still a tremendous amount to learn about human trafficking in the United States and far more data and research is needed. But what we do know is a great deal about how victims – particularly young people – are lured into trafficking situations. The information below summarizes some of the best available research about how trafficking actually happens, so you can help to keep your families and communities safe. To read more, tap here.

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