March 31st, 2022 - For the sake of ease, discussion about trafficking tends to revolve around categories: labor trafficking, child trafficking, sex trafficking, etc. Another way to think of trafficking is as part of a spectrum of abuse and exploitation (concept courtesy of a legal training hosted by The Remedy Project, USAID Asia CTIP, and USAID Thailand CTIP). Listen to learn more.

Welcome to The Freedom Story podcast where we bring you our weekly updates, in audio version. For more information, please visit www.thefreedomstory.org.

March 24th, 2022 - A plethora of news sources are picking up on the alarm bells ringing in Europe about the particular risks women and children are facing as they flee conflict in Ukraine. Their focus is on the immediate and obvious risks of abuse, trafficking, and exploitation, but it is foreseeable that longer term risks can also arise. Listen to learn more.

Welcome to The Freedom Story podcast where we bring you our weekly updates, in audio version. For more information, please visit www.thefreedomstory.org.

March 17th, 2022 - Highly educated, middle-class women have been turning online to social media to earn money in exchange for explicit photos and videos of themselves. Oftentimes, they cite being saddled with enormous debts from student loans and not enough income from “normal jobs” as the impetus behind jumping on a quick way to get out from under the mountain of debt. There is an element of glamorizing it too, with lures of being able to afford luxury goods. Listen to learn more.

Welcome to The Freedom Story podcast where we bring you our weekly updates, in audio version. For more information, please visit www.thefreedomstory.org.

March 10th, 2022 - In response to last year’s Trafficking in Persons Report, when Thailand was downgraded to the Tier 2 Watch List, the agenda has focused on intensifying efforts to move up towards Tier 1. The report offered recommendations to improve the country’s standing by: increasing law enforcement’s capacity to investigate and prosecute, investing in multi-disciplinary training, increasing understanding of the linkages between forced labor and trafficking, facilitating government collaboration, and increasing trauma-informed care and treatment of survivors at every step of the way through the legal and recovery process. It is a policy priority to try to meet these recommendations. Listen to learn more.

Welcome to The Freedom Story podcast where we bring you our weekly updates, in audio version. For more information, please visit www.thefreedomstory.org.

March 3rd, 2022 - Tuesday, March 8 is International Women’s Day! This year, the theme is “Break the Bias” and the call is for us all to help create a world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. This goal is especially important for us, as we continue in our mission to prevent child trafficking. In our experience, discrimination renders marginalized people even more vulnerable to trafficking or makes it harder for them to access help if they have become victims of exploitation. Listen to learn more.

Welcome to The Freedom Story podcast where we bring you our weekly updates, in audio version. For more information, please visit www.thefreedomstory.org.

February 24th, 2022 - As we shared last week, traffickers are capitalizing on opportunities the pandemic presents. Trafficking has not diminished, so we believe it is more important than ever to focus on prevention. We must address all the factors that push or lure people into risky situations or leave them unprotected if they are trafficked. Research shows that prevention programs are most effective when combining awareness-raising with actual material support. Listen to learn more.

Welcome to The Freedom Story podcast where we bring you our weekly updates, in audio version. For more information, please visit www.thefreedomstory.org.

February 17th, 2022 - It might be tempting to hope that lockdowns, social distancing measures, travel restrictions, and fear of illness would have curbed trafficker activity. Unfortunately, this has not been the case. Traffickers have adapted to COVID challenges in a variety of ways. Listen to learn more.

Welcome to The Freedom Story podcast where we bring you our weekly updates, in audio version. For more information, please visit www.thefreedomstory.org.

February 3rd, 2022 - At the beginning of the pandemic, you may remember, there were predictions that we would see an increase in trafficking, as well as instances of other kinds of abuse, like domestic violence. Meanwhile, service providers, like shelters, would be hampered in their ability to help their clients or respond to increased demand, especially in lockdown situations. As we’ve talked about before, these predictions have largely turned out to be true. However, now in our third year of this pandemic, we can take a look at how anti-trafficking organizations, especially in aftercare services, are adapting to challenges brought by COVID19. Listen to learn more.

Welcome to The Freedom Story podcast where we bring you our weekly updates, in audio version. For more information, please visit www.thefreedomstory.org.

February 3rd, 2022 - For nearly two decades, the use of child labor had been on a very promising downward trend. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 crisis has reversed it. While child labor had been decreasing since the year 2000, a UNICEF report released last June states that the number of children engaged in child labor has now risen to 160 million worldwide. The report further warns that, “globally, 9 million additional children are at risk of being pushed into child labour by the end of 2022 as a result of the pandemic.” And, children who had already been engaged in child labor were pushed to work longer hours or in worse conditions, especially where employers might have taken advantage of cutbacks in labor safety inspections. Listen to learn more.

Welcome to The Freedom Story podcast where we bring you our weekly updates, in audio version. For more information, please visit www.thefreedomstory.org.

January 27th, 2022 - After years of allegations and prolonged intense media attention, the Ghislaine Maxwell trial finally ended in conviction last month. Because it received so much public attention, it might be helpful to put this case in context, to shed light on sex trafficking–both in how it aligns with how most cases of trafficking happen and also in how it was strikingly different. Listen to learn more.

Welcome to The Freedom Story podcast where we bring you our weekly updates, in audio version. For more information, please visit www.thefreedomstory.org.