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*Blog posts written by survivor authors are marked with an asterisk.
Fair Trade Month and Labor Trafficking
By Madison Lerum What is Fair Trade? Fair Trade. You might have seen this label stamped on coffee grounds, or stuck to a bushel of bananas. But what exactly does Fair Trade mean, and why is it so important that there’s an entire month dedicated to it? According to Fair Trade Certified: “When you see
COVID-19 & Visas for Victims of Trafficking: Considering the Pandemic’s Effect on American Immigration and Worker Exploitation
By Kate Fintel To be able to live the American dream: that is the opportunity of a lifetime for many around the world. But as the COVID-19 global pandemic intensified, that opportunity became even more of a fantasy than an attainable goal. The number of refugees, asylees, and temporary workers allowed into the country was
*Juneteenth 2021 and Human Trafficking
By Buki Domingos Juneteenth this year is on Saturday, June 19th and it is a critical time for the United States to take stock of not just Black lives, but also the forms of human oppression that are still encountered in our society. The historical markers that the end of slavery represent in the US
The Coercive Side of COVID-19: How the Crumbling Economy and Changed Labor Market Have Catalyzed Labor Trafficking
By Kate Fintel Among the side effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic is economic distress. As of June 2020, it was estimated that by the time the pandemic ends, an estimated 195 million full-time jobs will have been eliminated. What does this mean? Well, in the least, according to the World Bank’s recent prediction, some 70 million
From Overlooked to “Essential”: Why Many Workers are Actually Facing Greater Exploitation and Abuse, Regardless of their Fancy New Designation
By Kate Fintel In an article by Robin Hassler Thompson, JD, MA, Executive Director of the Survive and Thrive Advocacy Center, which provides community education programs and direct services to sex and labor trafficking survivors in the Tallahassee area, Ms. Thompson quotes an anonymous trafficking survivor: “Before COVID-19, we were ‘low-wage, low-skilled’ workers, but now,
Helping Clients Access Stimulus Checks
By Charlee Borg COVID-19 has impacted the anti-trafficking community in many ways. Nonprofits closed their doors, some pausing 24/7 services for the first time, conferences were canceled, and those lucky enough to keep their jobs may have moved to remote client support methods. Some people in labor trafficking situations were further removed from help-seeking opportunities
