2020

The Global Anti-Slavery Movement Today

There are many ways to address the crime of human trafficking and slavery. Since the emergence of history’s fourth global anti-slavery movement in the 1990s, the avenues of attack have focused on building NGOs, raids and rescues, getting laws passed, and scrutinizing supply chains. In the last few years, however, there has been a significant change in approach with a much larger emphasis on scientific inquiry across a number of disciplines not normally linked to anti-slavery activism. These include the use of satellites and imaging from space, the transfer of statistical techniques from mass atrocity measurement, corpus linguistic analysis of large numbers of slave narratives, the linking of slavery with mass deforestation and species loss, and how slavery and human trafficking became both a strategy and tactic in armed conflict. In this talk Kevin Bales sets out how this ’scientific revolution’ is leading to new types of anti-slavery activism and some remarkable breakthroughs.

Contextualising the role of women in child trafficking: Haiti and the restavèk system

This talk provides an overview of the restavèk practice of child slavery in Haiti and reveals the dominant role of women in perpetuating the system. It explores the root causes behind the practice by contextualising the actions of women involved in a wider framework of under-development, poverty, gender inequity and violence in its physical, structural and symbolic forms. The wider environment through which women are made vulnerable and, as a result, compelled to traffic and enslave children provides the background for the restavèk system's continued existence and gives us, as anti-slavery activists, a clear path through which the practice should be perceived and addressed. This talk is supported by a 2 year period of ethnographic fieldwork in Haiti where a feminist methodology was employed, placing respect for culture and human dignity at the heart of the research.

Sharing true untold stories of impoverished Sri Lankan women who have been exploited in the Middle East

Sriyani Tidball, an advocate for peace, justice and human rights, as well as a college professor in the USA and founder of two non-profits, showcases stories of slavery of Sri Lankan housemaids in the Middle East. In her talk she exposes the heart-breaking stories of marginalized women who have spent years working as housemaids in the Middle East and were subjected to abysmal, inhumane working conditions, sexual violence, and human rights abuses. Their grievances were never heard and they never received any kind of justice. As a voice for these abused migrant women, Sriyani Tidball is providing a window into the lives of the Sri Lankan women whose elected politicians chose to increase the economy of the country by selling its poverty-stricken mothers.

About the film The Price of Free

Within the first hour you’re awake, chances are the coffee you drink, the phone you text with, or the shirt you put on may have been made (in part) with child labor. Around the world, more than 152 million children are victims of child labor. It’s a complex problem, but it’s one we can solve. The award-winning documentary The Price of Free shows the hidden faces of these children and introduces you to the man who’s committed his life to ensuring all children are free, Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi. With the help of a covert network of informants, Kailash and his dedicated team carry out daring raids to rescue and rehabilitate imprisoned children. Using hidden cameras and playing the role of buyers at the factory to gain access, we watch Kailash take on one of his most challenging missions to date: finding Sonu, a young boy trafficked to Delhi for work who has been missing for eight months.

Slavery and Forced Marriage in the Law: Mapping Global Perspectives and Challenges

In this presentation, Dr. Katarina Schwarz and Dr.Helen McCabe will discuss the global landscape of laws addressing slavery, human trafficking, and forced marriage. They explore contested definitions, situate these in international and domestic legal frameworks, and interrogate issues arising in interpretation and implementation. The discussion will be rooted in their work mapping legislation in all of the world’s countries, bringing a unique global comparative perspective to the understanding of laws addressing modern slavery.

Tenth Year of the Butterfly Longitudinal Research Project of Survivors of Sex Trafficking in Cambodia: Lessons Learned

Helen introduces the Butterfly Project; 128 survivors share their experiences and understandings as experts of their own lives. Glenn answers a series of questions on lessons learned, ethics, and where we go from here including exploring supporting similar longitudinal research with survivors of other forms of trafficking. Theary and Channtha share ten key messages from the project.

Recognizing the need for collaboration amongst anti-trafficking organizations, she founded Chab Dai in 2005. The coalition originated with 11 partner members but has since grown to include over 50 organizations and 10 of its own coalition, prevention and client care projects with international offices in the US and the UK. In the past decade it has become Hellen’s passion to train up members and connect organizations to one another. Capacity building, training, mentoring, and collaboration have been at the center of her work in Cambodia and abroad. Also in the presentation are: Lim Vutheary Senior Researcher Chab Dai Longitudinal Research Project Cambodia and Channtha Nhanh Senior Researcher Chab Dai Longitudinal Research Project Cambodia

Modern Slavery in the Anthropocene

Modern slavery co-occurs in many of the same geographies disproportionately incurring the effects of climate change and experiencing intense environmental degradation, including environmental crimes. In this video Dr. Jess Sparks will discuss the emerging evidence shifting scholarly understanding beyond mere co-occurrences to patterns of multidirectional and non-linear relationships that suggest a modern slavery, environmental degradation, and climate change nexus. The discussion will conclude with an analysis of key areas for future research to improve understanding of the nexus and potential pathways to action.

What is freedom? Definitions from across the anti-trafficking field

Every day, anti-trafficking efforts around the world work to support victims toward "freedom." Anti-trafficking advocates do their daily work in the name of "freedom." But what does this mean -- what is freedom? This research explores this question with law enforcement professionals, survivors, and victim service providers. I will share definitions of freedom from the UK and US. These definitions can allow anti-trafficking stakeholders to better understand the substance of freedom; help to break down preconceptions among stakeholder groups; and facilitate a shift in legislation and advocacy from being against slavery to being for freedom.

The Challenges of resolving MMIW, and the Trafficking of Native Women and Children

Congresswoman Haaland grew up in a military family; her father was a 30-year combat Marine who was awarded the Silver Star Medal for saving six lives during Vietnam, and her mother is a Navy veteran who was a federal employee for 25 years in Indian education.

As a single mother, she volunteered at her daughter's pre-school in order to afford an early childhood education. She struggled to put herself through college, earning degrees from the University of New Mexico and UNM Law School.

She is a 35th generation New Mexican who is an enrolled member of the Pueblo of Laguna, and also has Jemez Pueblo heritage. After running for New Mexico Lieutenant Governor in 2014, Haaland became the first Native American woman to be elected to lead a State Party. She used her experience reaching out to communities who are often forgotten during the electoral process during the two Obama presidential campaigns. During her time as State Party Chair, she traveled to Standing Rock to stand side-by-side with the community to protect tribal sovereignty and advocate vital natural resources.

About the Film Sisters Rising

Sisters Rising is the story of six Native American women reclaiming personal and tribal sovereignty in the face of ongoing sexual violence against Indigenous women in the United States. Dawn was in the Army, now she’s a tribal cop in the midst of the North Dakota oil boom. Sarah is an attorney working to overturn restrictions on tribal sovereignty. Patty teaches Indigenous women’s self-defense. Loreline & Lisa are grassroots advocates supporting fellow survivors. Chalsey is creating the first anti-sex trafficking code introduced to a tribal court. 1 in 3 Native women reports having been raped during her lifetime. 86 percent of offences are perpetrated by non-Native men. Sisters Rising is an urgent call to action, a gorgeous portrait of powerful women acting in solidarity, and a demand for tribal sovereignty and self-determination as the necessary step towards ending violence against Indigenous women.

Technology and Trafficking

Technology is increasingly being utilized by the antislavery sector to address issues of modern slavery in remote, often inaccessible locations. This talk will cover the work being undertaken at the Rights Lab in which we apply remotely sensed satellite data to map the locations of sectors known to subject workers to modern slavery, determine their scope and scale, and provide insights into the changing temporal patterns of sectors such as brick-making and fish-processing. The connection to the modern slavery-environment nexus will also be addressed, demonstrating the intersectional approach to research into modern slavery impacts which can be undertaken utilizing data that can be collected from space.

A Global Perspective of the Anti-Trafficking Conversation

E. Benjamin Skinner explains what modern-day slavery is, how it permeates our everyday lives and how we can fight against it. The author of A Crime so Monstrous, which won the Dayton LIterary Peace Prize for nonfiction, discusses his work as a journalist writing about modern-day slavery. The crime often includes the trafficking of children and can permeate nearly any industry, including domestic service, agricultural work, or manufacturing. Ben is the president of his nonprofit, Transparentem, dedicated to advancing the well-being of workers and communities around the world, by exposing hard truths to those with the power to transform industries and to rid those industries of trafficking and abuse.

Responsibility and Accountability in Fashion

Ajai Vir Singh, a pioneering force in Sri Lanka’s fashion and design industry of Sri Lanka, and the founder of the responsible fashion movement, shares about issues facing the global fashion industry and its supply chain. Ajai, who's communication project for Sri Lanka Apparel, ‘Garments Without Guilt’ won him a Global Effie in New York,which remains the only Asian entry to win a Global Effie, shares highlights several points which raise issues about the clothes on our backs.

He is the Founder and President of the prominent Colombo Fashion Week, one of four main fashion weeks in Asia that has been running successfully for over 10 years.

His deep-rooted commitment to Sri Lanka’s fashion design industry for the past 17 years has given Ajai a platform to promote responsible and ethical standards in the industry. He says the final decision is with the consumer who needs to demand ethical standards of manufacturing of the clothes they choose.