Free the Slaves was born in the early days of the new millennium, dedicated to alerting the world about slavery’s global comeback and to catalyze a resurgence of the abolition movement. Slavery has been outlawed everywhere, but it has not been eradicated. Free the Slaves exists to help finish the work that earlier generations of abolitionists started.
They help those in slavery escape the brutality of bondage. They help prevent others from becoming trapped by traffickers. They help officials bring slave holders to justice. They help survivors restore their dignity, rebuild their lives, and reclaim the future for themselves, their families, and their communities.
Slavery will end when businesses clean up their supply chains and consumers demand slavery-free products, when governments and international institutions toughen enforcement and fund anti-slavery work worldwide, and when activists and advocates educate the vulnerable about their rights and empower those in slavery to take a stand for freedom.
Free the Slaves is building a world without slavery by demonstrating that ending slavery is possible.
Their Mission: Liberating slaves and changing the conditions that allow slavery to persist
Slavery is the result of vulnerability. It flourishes where people cannot meet their basic needs and lack economic opportunity, education, health care, and honest government. Slaves usually come from the poor, the desperate, the uneducated, the marginalized, and the unprotected. People are forced to work without pay, under threat of violence, and they’re unable to walk away. Their strategy is to reduce people’s vulnerability, help those in slavery to freedom, and transform the political, economic, cultural, and social circumstances that make slavery possible.
Their Vision: A community-based model for freedom
They help communities chart their own path toward sustainable freedom based on their unique needs and circumstances. They strengthen the capacity of grassroots organizations, government agencies, advocacy coalitions, and the media to take action. They support vulnerable communities through education, mobilization, and increasing access to education, vocational training, and essential services. They rescue those in slavery and help them rejoin their families and communities. They record and share success stories so the world can see what both slavery and freedom look like. And they systematically assess their work to ensure accountability and continuously improve their programs. Free the Slaves co-implements all community projects with and through locally-based organizations.
Their History: Anti-slavery pioneers and innovators
Free the Slaves was founded in 2000—and today they are considered a leader and pioneer in the modern abolitionist movement.
They have helped awaken the world to the fact that slavery still exists, why it does, and where it’s worst. They’ve developed a global blueprint for change to inform governments, international institutions, faith communities, businesses, and the public what they can do.
They’re now implementing their community-based strategy in strategically selected countries, demonstrating that their model works and that it is both scalable and replicable. Their groundbreaking research and rigorous evaluation informs their policy advocacy to strengthen anti-slavery laws and rid slavery from manufacturing supply chains and business practices.
