Slavery Today | International Justice Mission

Every day, innocent people are beaten, raped and abused as slaves.

With your help, we can rescue them and end slavery in our lifetime.

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Slavery at a Glance

There are 40+ million slaves globally.

That’s more than ever before in human history.

Slavery is a multibillion-dollar industry.

Human trafficking generates $150B annually.

Slave owners prey on the poor and weak.

1 in 4 victims of forced labor is a child.

Every slave is a person with a name, a story and a dream. Together, we can send rescue and set them free.

See How

Slavery: In Their Own Words

Maarko* was a 7-year-old boy sexually abused on live internet video—a crime called cybersex trafficking.

He dreamed of being like his hero Superman, but had no way out. Maarko was rescued through the efforts of IJM and his abusers have been prosecuted.

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Gowri wanted to support her children and pay their bills, so she took out a loan from a crooked factory owner.

The owner continually increased the loan, violently forcing her family to continue working long hours for him. After nearly 10 years, IJM was able to send rescue.

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Foli* was a young boy forced to work 19-hour days on his uncle’s fishing boat.

He prayed to God for safety and a chance to escape. After the local police freed him, he was able to go to school and play soccer again.

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Elsa* was deceived and forced into a life of prostitution.

After losing her parents at 12 years old, Elsa was determined to find work and support her brothers. A local bar owner offered her a job, but it was a trap. For years, she faced countless nights of sexual exploitation. But now, Elsa is safe because of IJM.

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Slavery is Prevalent Across the World

Source: Global Slavery Index, 2016

IJM is the largest international anti-slavery organization in the world.

We know where slaves are and have a plan to rescue them.

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Slavery is a Violent Crime

Slavery goes beyond just a bad working condition. People trapped in slavery face physical, verbal and sexual abuse daily, and cannot leave to find other work or protect their families. In IJM's cases, we have met slaves who report being beaten, gang-raped, locked in tiny rooms, starved and even forced to witness murder.

Internet

Brick Kilns

Brothels

Fishing Boats

Tree Cutting Facilities

Quarries and Mines

We can stop stories like these from happening.

All around the world, slaves are taken by oppressors who believe that making money matters more than a person’s life. Driven by greed and overlooked by their local legal system, these oppressors steal human beings and intimidate them until they feel too small to fight back. We believe these slave owners shouldn’t be allowed to win.

International Justice Mission is an organized group of advocates, donors, investigators, social workers, lawyers and government leaders who are executing a proven plan that will stop the modern slave trade in its tracks.

We rescue slaves by disrupting the slave trade. At IJM, we work with local governments to rescue slaves and throw their oppressors in jail. Once the immediate crisis is managed, we disrupt the business model that fostered the slavery in the first place. Disrupting the model involves prosecuting slave owners and dramatically increasing the legal, financial and opportunity costs slave owners must pay to sustain a slave-labor model.

If we don’t disrupt the model, slave owners will expand their power and steal more lives. But the world is changing. Modern slavery can end in our lifetime. Our proven model works. Our only limitations are financial. With your help, we can throw slave owners and traffickers in jail, rescue those whose lives have been stolen and prove to the world every human life matters.