Grace As Justice Vol. 1, Issue 4

GRACE AS JUSTICE graceasjustice.com Vol 1 Issue 4

Eur o pe F ig h t s H u m a n

Un it ed Kin g do m

Spring 2016

T r a f f ic k in g

Sw it zer l a n d

a l ba n ia

Edit o r 's Co r n er As I look out over the city, viewing the Eiffel Tower from my hotel room, I can?t help but notice the hustle and bustle of city life. I watch people quickly pass one another on the street without looking up or acknowledging another's face and I realize just how easy it is for traffickers to move their human cargo without detection. In our complicated modern lives, we are wary and tired and hardly interested in helping others. Yet the consequence of looking down, instead of looking up, is often the promotion of human trafficking. Particularly in Europe and the United States, criminals know no one will ask questions. Yet we cannot be expected to run into dangerous situations to help either. So just how do we end slavery without putting our own lives at risk? Many people believe it requires a great deal of time, consideration and money. However, when I

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look at some statistics that measure our complex lifestyles, I find that there is hope.

Making simple changes can have a profound impact and together we can change lives. For example, I recently viewed some statistics showing that in the U.S. alone, we consume somewhere around $16 billion in chocolate, $100 billion in beer, $6 billion in potato chips, and $18 billion in credit card late fees in any given year. Currently, we are raising only a miniscule portion of that, just a few hundred thousand dollars a year, to fight human trafficking. What if we just traded in a bit of chocolate or a few bags of chips to help? What if we paid our credit cards on time and donated the late fees we saved? While I am all for living an enjoyable life, the statistics made me sad, thinking that if more people knew the helplessness of the victims, the hard and

H o p e D ie s

La s t

has created is The Book of Love. This enriching text was developed in response to the request of a sex worker to receive a Bible. Although The Book of Love is not a Bible per se, it brings the true love of God and immeasurable hope to those caught in trafficking. The response to its distribution has been both impressive and touching. Among other things, the book discusses the concept of shame, overcoming, and the difference between who one is and what one does. In a response to the different nationalities and languages trapped in slavery, the book is written in numerous languages and has been widely distributed.

Hope Dies Last is both the name and battle cry of a group of passionate individuals located in Budapest, Hungary.

Their goal is to address the issue of human trafficking at the root cause while using their creativity to reach the exploited.

The three different ways Hope Dies Last seeks to reach those exploited in labor trafficking and sexual slavery include media, ministry and education. Two of their projects are The Book of Love and a short video called The Pipeline of Human Trafficking.

The Pipeline of Human Trafficking focuses on the root problem of human trafficking while encouraging people to direct their talents towards helping others caught in slavery. In this short video, Hope Dies Last tells the story of a former human trafficker, his transformation and his dangerous work helping to rescue those enslaved. This video can be viewed on the Website.

Finally, Hope Dies Last also has resources such as the field guide for The Book of Love and is working on additional projects. At present, they are doing a follow up film on the same ex-human trafficker discussed in The Pipeline of Human Trafficking. Look for this video on their website in the future.

Another ongoing project Hope Dies Last

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T he Fr e e do m

Ch a lle n g e

"...rescuing w omen from brothels is just one of the w ays w e tackle modern-day slavery."

This story is from Helena, an outreach worker supported by The Freedom Challenge, a movement of passionate women dedicated to freeing oppressed women and children around the world.

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Eastern Europe Czech Republic

A beautiful Nigerian lady leads us downstairs.

We are heading for the basement. This is where the girls work ? entombed in a concrete prison, no windows, little air and no escape. On the stairs I feel a sudden urge to strike up a conversation with the woman ? I feel that we might not be allowed to stay for long. I hand her a care package, tell her we are Christians. In the package she has a Bible, a small gift and crisis hotline numbers. Will she even use them? I tell her God loves her.

At the bottom of the stairs, in the dimly lit chamber, sits another Nigerian woman. We talk to the two of them about their lives. They tell us they have only been in the Czech Republic for one month. They are worried about their families back home ? the traffickers told them that if they try to leave, their families will be killed. Soon, we are asked to leave but not before we are able to leave more Bibles and gifts for the other women.

In next brothel we visit, I meet Natalia, a Czech lady who has had a difficult past. Her father left when she was young, and her mother is not capable of providing, financially or emotionally, for her and her sister. Natalia feels that she has no choice but to work as a prostitute. She carries her parent?s rejection like a heavy weight. We

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Mo l do v a 's Cr is is

by Steven J. Rawbone

In 2008/ 9, reporter and TV presenter Michael Palin presented a series on Europe for the BBC. One of the countries he visited was Moldova.

While there, he said ?Moldova is the poorest country in Europe. Many in the countryside can only support their families by working abroad.

Those left behind are easy prey for drug dealers and people traffickers.?1 Moldova is a former Soviet satellite state and since the fall of communism in 1989, it has been left to fend for itself and has suffered from negative economic growth, high unemployment, soaring inflation and corruption.2 In January last year for example, it was reported that $1 billion went ?missing?from Moldovan banks which led to former Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat being arrested for his involvement in bank fraud. This sum is the equivalent of approximately twelve per cent of the country?s GDP (Gross Domestic Product). Even now, the current Prime Minister Pavel Filip has been facing demonstrations in the country?s capital Chisinua due to his links with powerful Oligarchs. Filip recently admitted that the country is in a dire financial situation and that the government may not be able to pay either pensions or salaries for four months.3 In 2002, the World Health Organisation stated that forty nine per cent of the population lived below the poverty line4 with one third of children living in poverty and sixty eight per cent of the unemployed being women.5 According to the Global Slavery Index, the cost of living in Moldova should afford its inhabitants a reasonable standard of living,6 but it is human nature for people to want a better life. Consequently high emigration from the country has plagued Moldova over the last twenty-five years.

Julie Bindel is well-known in the UK as a journalist, author and feminist campaigner against sex crime. While travelling in Moldova, she witnessed a funeral being held for a twenty year old woman. Seeing the funeral cortège she enquired as to how the death had come about and was informed that the woman hadn?t actually died, but since she had been forced into prostitution, as far as her family and friends were concerned, she was dead.9 Such is the cultural shame and stigma attached to prostitution in Moldova. Due to the country?s patriarchal bias and deep seated religious traditions discriminate against women,8 even those forced into prostitution are never expected to be seen or heard of again.10 While familial support and protection might be a given to some, in Moldova it is often an individual?s own family that collude in their trafficking for personal gain.11 Indeed, because of their childhood experiences, some of those trafficked do not feel that what is being done to them is unusual or out of the ordinary.8 Orphans in Moldova are among the most at risk of falling prey to traffickers.12 The Moldovan government has been unsuccessful in its attempts to stem corruption and imprison criminals since an insipid and corrupt judiciary results in few being held accountable.13 In breaking down the supply chain somewhat, we find that along with willing state officials (police, customs officials, border guards and immigration services), travel agents and airlines, permits, visas and identity papers may

Away from the cities and towns, violence against women is common with seventy-five per cent of trafficked women having been subjected to domestic violence or abuse as

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children.7 The twin factors of gender-inequality and high unemployment for women mean they become easy targets for traffickers. In 2008, it was estimated that 25,000 women were trafficked abroad to countries such as Turkey, Cyprus, Russia and the United Arab Emirates, with ten per cent of these being children as young as twelve years old.8

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They currently have a home, an education and were introduced to the love of Christ. Their lives have been transformed, which has led to these once fragile souls becoming leaders in their community by helping those lost, unwanted, broken or in need. You can read their stories and discover The

Orphans Hands further on the website.

- Bibliography page 41 -

Steven J. Rawbone Steven J. Rawbone left a career in IT to study a BA in Theology, Music and Worship. This resulted in an acute awareness of social action and social justice issues. After a further three years as an Associate Pastor in London, he studied for an MA in Justice, Advocacy and Reconciliation and wrote his dissertation on Human Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation in Europe. Since then, Steven has been a Director for a charity stopping trafficking in Moldova, is a political activist and speaks at events to raise awareness about Human Trafficking.

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Hu m a n

A

T r a f f ic k in g :

Re a l St o r y

by Ryan Cheng

Eastern Europe - Greece -

Nadia* , a young girl from an impoverished village in Georgia, was not yet 17-years-old when she decided to go to Greece to follow her dream of becoming a nurse. She had attended a presentation for job and training opportunities in Greece where she completed all the necessary paperwork to pursue what she believed to be the chance of a lifetime. Filled with hope that their daughter would start a better life, Nadia?s parents drained their finances to pay her passage. Once she arrived in Greece at the place her employers had prepared for her to stay, she was locked in a room where she was brutalized by several men - beaten and raped repeatedly for two weeks. Finally, the men informed her of the work they intended for her. She was to work as a prostitute, or they would murder her family. The traffickers held Nadia captive, forcing her to service up to forty clients every day. (Caine, 2012, p. 14-15) Undaunted, Zondervan: Michigan

Many young women and children who are trafficked into the sex trade in Eastern Europe often share similar stories: they are lured by the glimmering hope of opportunity and received into a living nightmare. Sadly, only 1-2% of victims in Eastern Europe are ever rescued. A21 is a global anti-human trafficking organization dedicated to fighting modern-day slavery, with the overall goal of abolishing injustice in the 21st century.

Our goal for humanity is simple: freedom. Human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world, claiming another victim every 30 seconds. A21

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was founded in 2008 with a crisis shelter in Greece and a prevention and awareness office in Australia, and has since aided 434 survivors of human trafficking globally.

Today, we have 11 offices in 10 countries around the globe, with five in Europe alone. In Eastern Europe we are determined to fight modern-day slavery by preventing human trafficking through education and awareness, training professionals and service providers, rescuing and restoring survivors, and prosecuting traffickers.

Aftercare, or the rescue and restoration of survivors, is an integral part of our work to

Hu m a n

A

T r a f f ic k in g :

Re a l St o r y

by Ryan Cheng

Ch ild M a r r ia g e s : A Growing Trend in Rural Al bania

by Kristi Qendro Drita* was 15 years old when she became a bride. Barely speaking Albanian and shy, she was detached from the rest of their friends, but shared a small hut with her parents, sibling, and other relatives. It was because of these cramped conditions that Drita?s mother chose to marry her to a 21-year-old man whose living situation was better. Still a girl, she remains married and living with her husband?s family in a better home, but is now tasked with all of the domestic work.

Eastern Europe - Albania -

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Cases like Drita's are a growing trend in Albania, especially among some minority groups. Economic and social problems are common in the Roma community of Fushe-Kruja, which consists of roughly 250 families. These Roma families are large, and many of the community?s members are unemployed, uneducated, and face housing problems.

School dropout rates are high, but parents are unconcerned because they believe that sending children to school is unnecessary and will not affect their social status.

Children are seen as a material asset to the family, and child marriages and pregnancies are common.

When a girl reaches 11 years of age, she is considered the perfect age to get married. By marrying off their daughter, the family not only frees themselves of their responsibility for her, but also improves her social/ economic status, something they do not believe can be achieved through education. In one way or another, the family makes

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an agreement to ?sell? the child to the groom?s family by arranging this marriage.

However, since being married before the age of 18 is illegal in Albania, fathers/ husbands hide married teenage mothers at home in order to escape prosecution, not permitting them move about freely outside their own community.

What ADRA Al bania Is Doing ADRA Albania is dedicated to protecting vulnerable groups, especially children who are at risk for trafficking or who are being denied education. By working with the government and establishing educational programs, ADRA Albania seeks to empower children, women, and men through education, and to give those who missed out on schooling new opportunities to learn. ADRA Albania has implemented activities that raise awareness of the problems with child marriage and human trafficking. These activities inform participants about the importance of education, human rights, and where to report cases of trafficking.

T h e W h is t le b lo w e r F ilm R e v ie w

by Dr. Karl von Heintz

The Whistleblower is a grizzly story of a female American police officer who joins the contracted United Nations peacekeeping force in post-war Bosnia. The movie is based on real events describing how this officer uncovers a human trafficking sex ring actually run by the private firm hired by the United Nations to keep the peace. She tries to expose the human trafficking ring and is met with heavy resistance by those running the firm. When her attempts to close down the syndicate are intentionally ignored, she blows the whistle on the operation and is fired and exiled from the region.

Although she won a wrongful dismissal case against the privately held peacekeeping force, human trafficking continued and any attempts to investigate these crimes were abandoned.

Eastern Europe - Bosnia -

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The film is a brutal depiction of how girls are recruited by regional gangsters with relocation promises through indentured work as prostitutes. The story focuses on two Ukrainian girls who are trafficked into a Bosnian brothel operated by the contracted peacekeeping force. In such areas prostitution has long been accepted as collateral damage and quietly accepted by officials. The girls attempts to escape are unsuccessful because they have no credentials and consequently are not permitted to leave the country. They are captured and returned to their gangster guardians who torture and enslave them.

In the past the only person within the peacekeeping force who could hear their grievances was male and unsympathetic to their plight. The female American police officer is given the individual responsibility of overseeing the policing of these crimes, but her efforts are met with indifference and sometimes violent resistance. Societies around the world view prostitutes as criminals instead of victims as if they exploit this lifestyle for personal gain. So those in this lifestyle are often abandoned by their families and they do not have good witness appeal in court. Gangsters operating brothels are virtually impossible to bring to trial since

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T h e W h is t le b lo w e r F ilm R e v ie w

Un c ho s e n

by Julia Tomas Unchosen is a UK charity that uses film to fight modern slavery. We believe that film is a powerful tool that can explain Modern Slavery in a way that words cannot.

Unchosen aims to empower individuals, communities and organisations to recognise the signs of Modern Slavery and to take action. The charity organises awareness-raising events and offers a range of resources such as factsheets, spot the signs postcards and, above all, a variety of short films on the issue.

Europe United Kingdom - UK -

Every two years Unchosen organises a Modern Slavery Short Film Competition. This year it will be dedicated to child slavery. We provide case studies for each category (child sexual exploitation, child forced labour, child domestic servitude, children in the supply chain and child slavery: past and present). The case studies are based on genuine accounts and have been collected from leading charities, academics and government agencies. All film-makers (including students) are welcomed to participate.

Human Traf f icking Nicu was born in a village in Romania. The story of Nicu demonstrates how easy one can fall into the trap of international organised crime.

When he was nine, his family

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was approached by a gang who said that they could get Nicu work around Europe. His parents paid the gang ?200 to smuggle Nicu out of Romania.

The gang told them that after Nicu had worked off the rest of the debt for his travel and accommodation, they would receive lots of money. Nicu was driven to Spain, where he was placed in a house with other children. The following day, a child named Andre took him onto the streets and they had to beg for money. At the end of the day, they took the money back to the house. One

S T o P S la v e r y T o D A Y In the following radio interview with Diverse Cymru in Cardiff, Wales, Mr. Norman lays out the framework for human trafficking in Europe; discusses the refugee crises; and provides ways for individuals to become involved.

Click to Hear

Stop Slavery Today is the brainchild of Jeff Norman. Mr. Norman?s professional career includes leadership within law enforcement (police) in the UK with over 33 years of unblemished service and numerous commendations. He has led investigations as a senior investigating officer in cases of homicide and other serious crimes, and performed an intelligence manager role in a number of high profile criminal investigations.

He has also managed a number of high-risk, and often life threatening, covert investigations.

Prior to his recent retirement, he was the police representative on a group sponsored by the Welsh Assembly Government to deliver policies, procedures and training in anti slavery

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and human trafficking matters. The group is in the vanguard of shaping services for and identifying potential slavery victims throughout the UK and beyond.

Since retirement, his passion and interest in slavery has resulted in Stop Slavery Today, a consultancy and advisory service. He has spoken at a number of conferences, attended workshops and provided advice to multi-agency groups wishing to create a forum. The purpose of the forum is so potential victims can be better identified, protected and rehabilitated.

He is very keen to assist other individuals, businesses and organizations in any way possible.

If you wish to connect with Mr. Norman, you can do so here on his website Stop Slavery Today.

process. This includes working with people who are legally permitted to stay in the U.K. for integration into the British society. [RIO offers a transition from safe houses to social reintegration, and provides both practical and emotional support for victims.]

3. TRAINING PROJECT (Ant i-Sl avery Part nership) The anti-slavery project offers frontline services for police, health officials, legal officials, and increasingly businesses. It provides general awareness and specific training such as how to deal with victims once identified. Unseen has also worked with educational groups.

trafficked individuals. They are often found in the unregulated work force and can be found in such areas as fishing, agriculture, hospitality, car washes and forced criminality. The latter includes selling cannabis, forced begging, and ATM snatching. Forced labor victims tend to be eastern Europeans, and then those engaging in forced criminality are largely Vietnamese and a small number of Africans. Of course, this changes as opportunities for traffickers change.

GAJ: Can you t el l us what your t hought s are on chil dren of ref ugees being snat ched in Europe? Do you see any evidence of t his in t he UK?

4. MAP (Men?s Ant i-t raf f icking Project ) One thing many individuals are unaware of is men?s exploitation. It is just as high if not higher than female victims. MAP will mirror WATER, except that it will be for men. We are looking at its opening in 5-6 weeks time.

5. CHIPS CHIPS is a project with an expected opening date at the end of the year. It mirrors WATER and MAPS in its offerings, except that it is a children?s shelter.

GAJ: Can you t el l us a bit about t he probl em of human t raf f icking and men?

AW: We haven?t seen evidence of children ending up in the UK at present. However, it is probably only a matter of time. We know that children are already being exploited in forced labor in Turkish factories and that across the EU the estimate is that 10,000 children have already ?disappeared?and likely to have fallen pretty to traffickers.

GAJ: If someone wished t o work wit h Unseen, what woul d you t el l t hem?

AW: Keep an eye on the website for vacancies. Keep in mind the following: we only employ specialists in care or social work to work with survivors. We look for specific skill sets for administrative positions. For volunteers, we can always make use of people to help give talks, raise awareness and give training after undergoing the training themselves.

AW: Men are normally in forced labor, and make up the highest number of labor

GAJ: What are your great est needs right now?

AW: Good question. Other than the obvious, which is always finances, perhaps the willingness of the public to change their lifestyle and stop indirectly supporting trafficking. If you are wearing cotton, have a phone and eat food, then 30? 40 slaves are

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T r a f f ic k e d B o o k R e v ie w

by Rachael Williams-Mejri Trafficked by Sophie Hayes is a chilling account of a young British woman who was trafficked into Italy by a clever and violent man.

Europe United Kingdom - UK -

I have read many accounts on human trafficking, yet Sophie's account is chilling for many reasons. There are so many stereotypes attached to victims of sexual slavery that simply don't fit into her story.

She had a loving mother, a tightly connected family, an education, job, flat and friends. Her trafficker, who turns out to be a stalker and psychopath, courted her for years before showing his true colors.

Sophie had perhaps one gaping problem that made her a target for a patient psychopath, and that was her own insecurities on love particular masculine love due to her verbally abusive and uncaring father.

Sophie begins the text discussing her childhood and young adulthood. She is frank about the abuse and instability her father instilled into her and her siblings. After she moved out on her own, she had few relationships that always ended due largely to her insecurities. Although she meets her trafficker and takes no interest in him for significant periods of time, he begins to grow on her. His sudden disappearance isn't

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the end of his interest in her as he continues to pursue her in the guise of a friend through texts and phone calls. Over time, the two become close friends - so thought Sophie.

After being tricked and trapped, Sophie is forced into

"It was hard to believe that in just twenty-four hours, I'd learned to be frightened of the man I thought was my best friend." prostitution by both threats and extreme violence. For the next six months, her descent into hell is shocking, horrifying, and alarming. It isn't often that non-trafficked individuals are privy to the mental processes of someone being brainwashed. Yet, Sophie provides us just that and it is remarkably disturbing.

We see a gradual disconnect from reality as she struggles to survive: "If I could make this man believe I was Jenna, perhaps I could believe it too..." We see the effects of severe trauma when she says: "...gradually, as the minutes and then the hours rocked by, my mind shut down and the numbness almost obliterated the fear and revulsion....gradually, I learned how to switch off the light in my mind so that it became dark and empty and I felt nothing either physically or

K OK KOK is a German NGO working nationally against the trafficking of human beings. KOK works in concert with 37 agencies across Europe, including secular and faith-based groups, as well as groups advocating for sex workers?rights.

KOK believes that the trafficking of persons is a prejudice rooted in sexism and racism. In addition to working with Europeans, they also assist in human rights procedures for refugees and immigrants.

KOK provides information to a variety of legal and governmental agencies with the goal of changing or introducing legislation to help end human trafficking.

Some of their primary activities include lobbying and informing government, social, scientific and intergovernmental groups.

You can watch a video on their work within Germany.

Europe - Germany -

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Y o u t h Un de r gr o u n d

by Rasha Hammad

Europe - Sw itzerland -

We should not have to say, ?don?t buy people.? But we live in a world where buying people is actually a business. In fact, it is the second largest illicit business in the world following the arms trade, with an estimated annual profit of well over $32 billion. So, what are we doing about it? Youth Underground (YU) is a global information-sharing and referral platform, a sounding board to showcase initiatives against human trafficking by youth as advocates of change and defenders of human rights across age and frontier. Our goal is to prevent human trafficking through education, awareness-raising and prevention projects. Our approach is toenhance the youth ?echo?and use youth voices to put the business of human trafficking out of business. We essentially have two types of functions: 1. As a knowledge and youth hub, to showcase initiatives against human trafficking by youth;

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2. As a meeting point for private companies and associations involved in making the world we live in one without human trafficking.

We carry out these functions by organizing youth events and linking them with relevant companies or associations ? organizing youth conferences, developing closed workshops, filming, organizing public events, and encouraging teenagers in particular to speak on our behalf as ambassadors or ?Youth Undergrounders.?

We also try to ensure that through these, youth are able to express themselves in their own words, in their own way, and to their own audiences.

We are often questioned why we focus on youth. Our response is simple: youth are not only prime victims of human trafficking but are also today?s activists and change-makers ? those who speak out against this illicit trade and influence their peers as well as adults, namely teachers and parents.

Justice Acts is an organization that exists globally to help counter human trafficking. JA France focuses primarily on training and going out onto the street to meet with women forced into slavery.

While its primary purpose is not aftercare, it does work to connect women with aftercare as needed. Recently Grace As Justice caught up with Janet Weiner, the head of Justice Acts France, and was able to find out more about the work JA is doing.

Europe - France -

In addition to the training and street visits, Justice Acts has been very successful in networking, both locally and globally. JA is happy to report there are several groups engaging in numerous activities throughout France?s cities ? stepping out to help both men and women caught in human trafficking and slavery. Local groups, normally created in churches, are taking the time to know the women caught in sexual slavery, learn from their stories, and engage with them.

As Janet was privy to know more about human trafficking in France, she noticed many women were from Nigeria.

Research into trafficking statistics confirmed her concerns. While statistics

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constantly change and are difficult to pinpoint with true accuracy, she learned the vast majority of women trafficked into France, Spain and Italy are from Nigeria. In fact, there is an estimate of 15,000 Nigerian women in Italy alone.

One statistic she learned indicated that six out of ten trafficked persons are in fact Nigerians. Feeling God was telling her she needed to step back and look at the big picture, she made a decision to ?cut the head off the snake? and take a trip to Nigeria.

What she discovered was both startling and encouraging.

Bu s i n e s s Compassionate Ventures

with which Lucifer was adorned, and more. The twelve stones in Aaron?s breastplate can be found in the New Jerusalem as well. She began to understand the hatred Satan has for the people of God, and how he is raging to destroy as many humans as he can. Using the very thing that defined him to destroy his works is impressive.

Kim Atkins continues to work towards this social enterprise she feels called to run. She is humbled by God?s confidence that He can use her, no matter how small she might feel. Her jewelry includes bracelets, necklaces, earrings and more, and they come in a variety of designs and metals. She does ship overseas and has done business in both the United States and Australia.

Jewelry That Speaks website Kim Atkins Social Entrepreneur and ow ner of Jew elry That Speaks, Kim Atkins creates items based on Scripture verses and seeks to capture visually the messages of hope contained in the Bible. Kim sees her calling as w ork for the restoration of dignity and hope for w omen in all circumstance, but particularly those that are victims of abuse or human trafficking.

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Bu s i n e s s products that are tainted with labour exploitation, giving them a huge responsibility to do something both internally and on industry-wide scales. Internal changes can include improving transparency within their own supply chains, improving codes of conduct and supplier relationships, and ensuring that buying practices are not causing exploitation down the chain (i.e. ordering products that clearly have an unrealistic time-frame and price to be able to respect living wage and working conditions).

Thankfully, the connection between business and human rights has become ever more prominent from both civil society and government, with the widely-endorsed UN Guiding Principles proving that businesses are now expected to respect human rights (a surprisingly recent concept in the corporate world). Moreover, legislation such as the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 and the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act are converting intentions into actions. These policies have begun to lead the way by pushing companies to improve visibility and recognise modern slavery, or at the very minimum, acknowledge that it is a problem.

This is a complex problem which demands complex solutions. It is not a case of just a few exceptional rogue gangs or unscrupulous labour providers (though these of course exist).

It is a more endemic problem that demands a deep understanding of the myriad factors surrounding it, and a multi-stakeholder approach ? that is, from business, workers and government, and of course, consumers. It may

feel that with such structural issues and global inequality that consumers feel disempowered to do anything. But we must remember that it is consumer demand which drives the economy and feeds it with its appetite for endless cheap and disposable goods. While it seems very difficult to imagine this appetite ever being satiated, we must remember that just because a problem seems colossal does not mean we should bury our heads in the sand. We cannot underestimate the power of knowledge. We must understand that labour exploitation is highly complex, that companies will not eradicate it with a few policies, and that a whole host of stakeholders and real development needs to occur to reduce the supply and the demand of cheap goods which themselves demand slave labour. As a consumer, it is perhaps most important to understand one?s choices. One needs to question the companies we buy from. If they are a large company, one should analyse the statement which they will have to produce soon for their website. This statement will disclose what they are doing to ensure their supply chains are free from modern slavery. Is it substantial, or just a talking shop? Look at how they address the issues in their Corporate Social Responsibility reports. Are they taking it seriously? And finally, you have power with the knowledge that if you pick a jacket up from a shelf of a large company for ÂŁ10, the likelihood of those at the bottom of the production chain having decent wages and working conditions are extremely slim.

Information on Finance Against Trafficking

Anne-Marie Barry Ms Barry is Research Analyst for Finance Against Trafficking and lead author of Forced Labour, Human Trafficking and the FTSE100. Her focus is on engaging the private sector in issues of modern slavery and she is now working on a project exploring how financial institutions in the UK can better detect and disrupt human trafficking networks. Twitter: @ FINANCEvTRAFFIK

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?A few t housand dev elopm ent w orkers w orldw ide, despit e heroic effort s, cannot solv e slav ery.

It w on?t go aw ay unt il w orld cit izens accept t his issue as it s ow n and address t he problem ?We [all] m ust use indiv idual t alent s t o fight slav ery.? Mat t hiew Friedm an, ?Where Were You??

situations and lessons to be learned from them. Second, he shows what has worked for him to help break down barriers and build relationships among people. Personally, I think this is useful even for veterans because we can all use relationship building suggestions and tips.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book. I felt the author?s transparency was very inspiring in that one can identify with him as a person instead of looking on at superman and not being able to imagine oneself doing anything to help end this atrocity.

Additionally, the suggestions he gives are subtle but powerful when thought upon. The baby steps are excellent for beginners, and the lessons help the veteran identify and connect at a deeper level.

I believe much of what Friedman wrote corresponds to what we believe at Grace As Justice Magazine, where we believe each person should do what is in her hand ? no matter how small or large she thinks that might be.

Matt Friedman, Author Where Were You?

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