Hotels And Trafficking
It is a general truth that for trafficking to happen in a community, it requires some people to carry out the crime, others to be complicit and a great many more to be ignorant. The victims don’t just disappear in one place and magically reappear somewhere else, ready to be exploited. They must be recruited, … Read more
Enslaved In Chelsea
Something terrible happened to me this weekend. I watched Made in Chelsea, and against all my better judgment, I enjoyed it. This (somehow) Bafta-winning structured reality show follows the lives of “real”, seemingly unemployed high-fliers in South West London as they go for endless cocktails and talk about love and, er… that’s it. First impressions: … Read more
STOP THE TRAFFIK in Germany
Last week our CEO Ruth had the honour of travelling to Hamburg to speak at the 34th Kirchentag. This is a five-day gathering of Christians of all ages and backgrounds to discuss burning and important topics of the day. Ruth sat on two panel discussions, one on human trafficking and the other more specifically on … Read more
Time to Cotton On
I think to some extent we all know what we’re doing when we shop at bargain stores. People talk about the “guilt” of stepping into a Primark or Walmart, because we know that things shouldn’t be that cheap. We know that something’s gone wrong somewhere along the line. The trouble is, it’s often not that … Read more
Launch: SPOT THE TRAFFIK
WHAT DOES A PERSON WHO HAS BEEN TRAFFICKED LOOK LIKE? SPOT THE TRAFFIK: A tool to equip community members and frontline professionals to identify and help victims of trafficking. A local authority employee may be the only person to enter a house and see someone who is trapped and being exploited. STOP THE TRAFFIK has … Read more
#2 – The Argument for Ethical Consumption
In the first post of this series, we looked at the most common counter-argument to ethical living – that it’s too expensive. The more aware you become of Certified products, the more you realise that Certification is not restricted to luxury items. There are, however, further cries of protest that can be made… so let’s … Read more
It Happens Here…
Today the Centre for Social Justice released a report “It Happens Here” detailing what they call a ‘shameful’ failure to address human trafficking in the UK. This report calls for a more victim centred approach and comprehensive training of professionals. If this has caught your attention and you want to know how you can respond … Read more
Mondeléz – Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail!
Mondeléz need our help! Following our campaign for a traffik-free Toblerone last year, the global chocolate giant behind Cadbury and Toblerone announced $400m plans to work against human trafficking and other abuses rife in their cocoa supply chains. This big promise sat alongside huge revenues for the company: $9.5bn at the end of 2012. Despite the … Read more
Bad Romance?
It’s that time of year again, when the world turns pink with sentimental cards, heart-shaped chocolates and long-stemmed roses. Happy Valentines Day! Whether you swoon with satisfaction or retch with repulsion at the thought of Valentine’s Day, it’s hard to deny that these days, it’s taken on a life of its own. According to some … Read more
An Exciting New Project…
We’re happy to announce a new project from STOP THE TRAFFIK in the UK… Along with our partners at Sea Communications, we’ve been selected by the UK government to develop new victim-centred training tools for frontline professionals to better identify and report human trafficking. Congratulations to NSPCC, Eaves, Thames Reach and the Counter Trafficking Bureau who have also … Read more
Slavery: Can You Spot It Outside the Cinema?
Have you been to the cinema lately? If so, there are a few syllables that won’t have escaped your attention. Lincoln and Django – two big budget films on slavery, from some of the biggest names in Hollywood (Spielberg and Tarantino). A great boost to public awareness, right? Well, not exactly. With all this buzz about the … Read more
STOP THE TRAFFIK: Eagerly Seeking Interns
Great news, friends! STOP THE TRAFFIK’s 2013 intern programme is now open for applications! We are looking for two talented interns to join the team at our London headquarters. The four-month internship begins in February (specific dates are negotiable), and is an exceptional opportunity to take on real responsibility, develop valuable skills and build momentum … Read more
Babies, Brides and The Everyday Demand for Human Trafficking
I do love a good urban myth. You can usually spot them a mile off. You know, the kind of story that you desperately want to be true because it makes for a fantastic mental picture- like the idea that Isaac Newton discovered gravity via a falling apple, or that the world would be put … Read more
New Year: Resolution Vs Disillusion
2012 has passed, thankfully with no Apocalypse to speak of. Still, it’s an ominous moment for many of us: the season to be jolly is breathing it’s last, and the fearful season of resolutions has begun… If you’re anything like me, New Year’s Resolutions are heavy-handed and short-lived. Determined as a drunk uncle’s dancing on … Read more
Santa’s Sweatshop
For all the talk of Christmas as a time of peace, it’s remarkable how much conflict can materialise at this time of year. From family feuds to nativity displays, it seems the tiniest of details can tick people off during the season of goodwill! Even Santa can’t escape the yuletide flak. This poster-boy of Coca-Cola … Read more
Tag a Pressie, Make It Merry!
I’ve always loved Christmas. These days, I’d struggle to list the vast array of things I love about this season. Carols … TV repeats … even Brussels sprouts! When I was little, things were much more simple. Christmas was about two things: getting presents, and eating chocolate. On one particularly snowy Christmas day, my Dad … Read more
Women of Strength
Women of the world! STOP THE TRAFFIK invites you on a journey to help prevent human trafficking internationally. We are offering 8 – 12 days in India with the unique opportunity: To experience and contribute to STOP THE TRAFFIK’s preventative work in India To learn about human trafficking To put your experience into action on … Read more
Land of Hope and… Apathy?
One of my favourite comics is a series of sketches called ‘The British Character’, produced in the satirical magazine Punch during the 1930s. As the name suggests, it’s a brilliant send-up of the oddities of “British” personalities. In one particular sketch, captioned “Political Apathy”, a scruffy political enthusiast tries in vain to provoke some passion in … Read more
People and Profits: What’s the Bottom Line?
With around 140 years of trading under it’s belt, investment firm Goldman Sachs has courted it’s share of controversy over the years. In one particularly memorable stunt, filmmaker Michael Moore went as far as wrapping the firm’s New York headquarters in police tape and declaring it a ‘crime scene’, given it’s visible hand in the 2008 … Read more
Mondelēz announces $400m investment in sustainable cocoa
STOP THE TRAFFIK welcomes yesterday’s announcement from Mondelēz that they will be investing $400 million over ten years to help people in cocoa farming communities. This has the potential to change the lives of children being exploited, and to prevent children being trafficked onto cocoa plantations in the Ivory Coast in future. Whilst welcoming such … Read more
Castles, Cannabis and Constables: The PCC Elections
They say that “an Englishman’s home is his castle”. I don’t know what you think of when you hear the word castle. For me it awakens memories of drizzly days walking around remote fortresses with huge unfriendly walls and neat, lavish interiors. The sort of place where you could live in undisturbed solitude for years … Read more
Beyond the GIFT Box: A Volunteer’s Perspective
Recently, STOP THE TRAFFIK UK hosted ‘Beyond the GIFT box’ – an event to say a big thank you to all the amazing volunteers who helped make our GIFT box project such a success over the summer. One volunteer, freelance journalist Lizzy Millar, was inspired to write about her experience. The Glamour-less Reality of Slavery … Read more
The Dark Side of Asparagus
It’s a funny thing, isn’t it, living in the age of search engines. Today, I was able to pop online and find myself an instantaneous expert on – of all things – asparagus. By contrast, if you’d quizzed me this morning on this rather niche topic, I could have told you two things about it: … Read more
Anti-slavery day and Travis Bickle…connect the dots
Only one more sleep till anti-slavery day! Hopefully you’re all geared up and ready to join with us for this global day of action to combat trafficking. If the above picture has thrown you into a blind panic wondering WHAT on earth STOP THE TRAFFIK is asking of its activists, then take a breath and … Read more
Obama throws the spotlight on Human Trafficking
When I called Obama and asked if he would mention human trafficking in his address, I didn’t know if he would go for it, but he did agree to the BBQ a week on Sunday. However, it went out there, and three cheers went up in the office as the president of the United States … Read more
TAXIS AGAINST TRAFFICKING
What do you usually talk to taxi drivers about? The weather? Plans for the weekend? The football results? One of our activists happened to mention to her taxi driver that she’d just been to an ACT meeting…. “One day I got talking to my taxi driver, and after I mentioned human trafficking he revealed that … Read more
Get Krafty!
As many of you will be aware, we have launched a new campaign as part of our on-going commitment to end child trafficking in the chocolate industry. We’re starting with Kraft, the world’s largest buyer of cocoa, and owners of the iconic Toblerone bar. We’re summoning all you anti-trafficking activists to help us create a … Read more
We want a Traffik-Free Toblerone
Today we are launching our new campaign asking Kraft- When will Toblerone be free from child trafficking? Do you have a passion for all things chocolaty? Are you creative? Then you can use your artistic talents to make a difference; create an image for our Kraft campaign. Kraft source a significant amount of their cocoa … Read more
The stories behind the stats
Human Trafficking has many faces. Every day people become trapped into situations of exploitation akin to slavery. They arrive there through deception or force; taken against their will and sold into any and every industry you can think of. Perhaps you have become a bit lost in a swirl of statistics. We can bandy around … Read more
Proud nominees of a Charity Times award!
As the Olympic flame is extinguished and our champions hang up their Team GB gear, here at STOP THE TRAFFIK we’re just getting warmed up and we’re in the running for an accolade of a different kind. We’re excited to announce that STOP THE TRAFFIK has been shortlisted for the Charity Times Big … Read more
