Get involved.
What you can do today to fight human trafficking:
LEARN AND BE INFORMED: Educate yourself about modern-day slavery and all its different forms – read books, watch movies, read media articles, search the Web, and ask lots of questions.
TALK IT UP – EXPOSE THE TRUTH ABOUT MODERN-DAY SLAVERY: Talk with your family, friends, colleagues, and classmates about the issues of human trafficking and expose the reality of modernday slavery through one-on-one discussions and small group conversations. Don’t underestimate the power of word-of-mouth awareness raising! You can write op/eds for a local paper, write about trafficking in an online blog, and let others know that human trafficking is a cause that you care about!
JOIN OR START A LOCAL ANTI-TRAFFICKING COMMUNITY GROUP OR MEETUP: Join or start a local anti-trafficking group and fight human trafficking with members of your community. Check www.meetup.com to see if an anti-trafficking Meet-up already exists in your area. Small groups of community members are a great way to take action and generate grassroots social change! Host a discussion group. Start a book club. Tell five of your friends about what you’ve seen today.
CALL YOUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES AND ADVOCATE FOR LEGISLATIVE CHANGE: Raise your voice. Call or meet with your representatives in Congress and your state legislators to urge them to support various types of anti-trafficking legislation. Collective action is best!
BUY PRODUCTS MADE BY SURVIVORS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING: When buying gifts for others or products for yourself, consider looking into buying products made by survivors of human trafficking. One purchase will work towards moving more and more survivors to their own self-sufficiency. Check out survivor-made products currently being sold by The Emancipation Network (TEN) online at www.madebysurvivors.com.
CHALLENGE YOUR FRIENDS: Raise awareness of the reality of human trafficking.
FREE MORE TRAFFICKING VICTIMS: Give money to organizations in your area that actively work on the ground to free victims of trafficking, prosecute their traffickers and provide vital rehabilitation.
LOG ON TO: www.tradethemovie.com for more information about organizations in your area that have dedicated their cause to fighting human trafficking in the United States and the world. This list was compiled by the Polaris Project and the International Justice Mission.