January 11, 2012 marks National Human Trafficking Awareness Day and Polaris Project intends to commemorate this significant day by increasing our ongoing efforts to raise awareness about human trafficking and inspire people to action. However, it is important that our efforts to raise awareness for the issue extend further than just this one day.

We are encouraging all anti-trafficking activists to participate in our month-long “[_________________]” Against Human Trafficking” photo campaign starting on National Human Trafficking Awareness Day and ending on Valentine’s Day 2012.  At the end of the campaign we’ll post a follow up photo blog with all of the entries that we receive.

Here are a few easy steps to get you started:

1. Take a picture of yourself (alone, with your pet, with friends, etc.) holding up a sign with “______ Against Human Trafficking.” Be creative!
2. Send your pictures in to info@polarisproject.org by Tuesday, February 14, 2012  and they will be featured on our North Star blog.

In addition to preparing for this photo campaign, be sure to stay tuned to our Twitter and Facebook accounts throughout the day for statistics, tips, and a special giveaway!

To submit a photo, you must be the sole owner of the copyright of any image submitted. Photographers retain the copyright to their photographs. Photographers agree to have their submitted photograph displayed in Polaris Project print and online advertisements, marketing material, and our social network platforms on Facebook, Twitter, and WordPress. Photographers also agree to have their work used without any fee or other form of compensation. Submissions will never be sold by Polaris Project.

Capitol Rotunda, Harrisburg

October 18, 2011 at 3:00 p.m.

30 victims, held in debt bondage. Sexual and physical violence used to force them to work long hours at very little or no pay. You may think that you would never come across this type of crime, but in Pennsylvania, these 30 labor trafficking victims were working in plain sight at stores like Walmart, Kmart, Safeway, and Target. These stores hired contractors to clean, and were unaware of the horrific conditions that their cleaners were working under. This is just one of many human trafficking situations that have emerged out of Pennsylvania in recent years, and a reason why PA Senator Daylin Leach yesterday hosted a press conference in the Harrisburg Capitol Rotunda calling for legislation that requires the posting of the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) hotline number.

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The Against Our Will Campaign is a partnership between mtvU, Free the Slaves, Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS), and Polaris Project. This campaign is dedicated to ending modern-day slavery through a series of on-air, online, and real world initiatives.

The Slavery Footprint Campus Challenge is a way for students to get involved with the fight against human trafficking by raising awareness, decreasing demands for goods and services provided by trafficking victims, and supporting organizations that are fighting modern-day slavery. The Challenge calls for students to compete against each other to spread information about slave labor and encourage brands and business owners to embrace slave-free products.

Assisting students in this campaign is an app called Made in a Free World that can be used to learn about the impact of slave labor in our lives. This app reveals the surprising prevalence of slave labor by surveying the user about goods and products that they may use everyday and giving them a personal “slavery footprint.” The survey highlights the astounding number of products that are developed using slave labor such as clothing and smart phones. In fact, slave labor is so dominant in today’s products that it is virtually impossible for someone’s footprint to be zero.

But, there is good news: the site is an e-activist’s dream that allows users to petition companies to address slave labor in their supply chains and to spread the word about this site through social networking sites. At the end of 2011, the 10 students who have shown the most dedication to the Slavery Footprint Campus Challenge will be rewarded with a trip to mtvU’s Woodie Awards.

If you would like to participate in our survey or want to learn more about mtvU and the Against Our Will Campaign click here.

On any given day various supporters contact Polaris Project looking to help us fundraise and raise awareness about the issue of human trafficking. John Lucy is one of those supporters. John finished biking 27 million revolutions for the world’s 27 million slaves.

John set a lofty fundraising goal to accompany his cycling voyage–to raise $5,000 for Polaris Project. Though he didn’t quite reach that sum, all the money he did raise will go towards providing clients with case management and basic necessities, operating the national human trafficking hotline, training law enforcement, and advocating for anti-trafficking policy. Polaris Project is truly grateful for his efforts and we loved following him on his adventure!

In case you missed the journey, you can check out John’s blog posts documenting his trip. As he visited various states in the U.S., John tied his adventures to his activism by reporting on the current status of human trafficking laws and provisions in each state he visited.

27 Million Revolutions

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Through the creation of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, the U.S. positioned itself as a leader in the global fight against human trafficking. This significant piece of legislation made human trafficking a federal crime, formed agencies and task forces to address human trafficking domestically and internationally, defined the strict penalties human traffickers face, created the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, and initiated various measures to prevent trafficking, protect victims, and prosecute traffickers. Since its original passage, the bill has been reauthorized three times, each time reaffirming our nation’s commitment to eliminating modern-day slavery and strengthening our ability to fight it.

The 2011 TVPRA has been introduced in the Senate by a bi-partisan coalition made up of Senators Leahy (VT), Boxer (CA), Brown (MA), Cardin (MD), Cochran (MS), Feinstein (CA), Gillibrand (NY), Kerry (MA), Rubio (FL), and Wyden (OR). However, we need to build momentum to ensure the bill gets passed. [Read more →]

Australia is a destination country for many people. With picturesque stretches of coast and idyllic outback scenery, there are many tourists who want to come to Australia to enjoy all that it has to offer. Unfortunately, Australia is also a destination for a different type of visitor – human trafficking victims. As Polaris Project’s only current Australian fellow, human trafficking in the Oceania region is of particular interest to me.

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In comparison to the Montana Meth Project ad campaign discussed here yesterday, anti-trafficking groups have tried similar ad campaigns before to raise public awareness, but never anything so graphic or compelling as the Montana Meth Project’s campaign, perhaps until now (see more below under Recent Developments). Past efforts have been sporadic and limited in reach. For example, the Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking initiated a print ad campaign focusing on child sex trafficking with images of strip clubs and very young girls in neon lights. Check it out here. Another coalition worked in Seattle to initiate a bus ad campaign, focusing on ending demand for commercial sex and thus thwarting sex trafficking. [Read more →]

The Montana Meth Project is a philanthropic organization working to prevent meth use in Montana by focusing on risks and consequences of methamphetamine. During its six years of operations, it has seen an inspiring decrease in meth use statewide. Public awareness has been catalyzed by the Meth Project’s intense advertising campaign, including short TV spots, radio announcements, internet presence, and print ads.

The print ads took the cause to the streets with a graphic advertising campaign appearing on billboards and in printed high school newspapers across the state of Montana. Many of these ads illustrate the drastic, dangerous, heart-wrenching effects of meth on its users and their families. Some ads particularly highlight the severe connection between drug use and various types of exploitation. The pictures allude to certain scenarios with images and key words, and many of these depict situations related to human trafficking. [Read more →]

Since the release of the 2011 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report three weeks ago, we’ve been busy processing the recommendations both here in the U.S. and in our Japan office. Polaris Project Japan, the biggest anti-trafficking non-profit in the country, has taken stock of the state of human trafficking in Japan, which remains a top destination country and has a unique set of struggles owing to its cultural and economic climate. [Read more →]

Since 1945, the United States has maintained a significant military presence in the Republic of Korea (also known as South Korea). Currently, about 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed on military bases throughout the country. Beginning in the 1950s, U.S. Forces in Korea (USFK) identified the need to provide entertainment in order to maintain high levels of morale among U.S. troops stationed there. The USFK and South Korea cooperated to establish centers of “rest and relaxation” for American troops called kijichon near American military bases. What began as a well-meaning effort to keep homesick American troops amused, and Korean citizens employed, resulted in an exploitative network that has spanned international borders and four decades. [Read more →]