As Newfoundland and Labrador increasingly relies on newcomer and migrant workers to prop up key industries, human rights advocates are warning that labor trafficking is rising—fueled by Canada’s deeply flawed Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP).

Members of Opus Dei, a powerful Catholic organization, allegedly trafficked dozens of girls in Argentina into domestic servitude. Survivors were recruited with promises of education and training, then forced into unpaid 12-hour workdays.

As Tigrayan refugees are forcibly returned after the war, many face detention, forced labor, and abuse. Lacking gender-sensitive screening or support, survivors are re-victimized on return, exposing how migration externalization policies fuel exploitation.

A survivor describes repeated interception, detention, and extortion in Libya under EU-funded migration control. His testimony reveals how EU cooperation with Libyan authorities sends migrants back into trafficking, forced labor, and ransom systems.

The dismantling of USAID have shuttered schools in Rohingya refugee camps, stripping children of protection and education. As safe spaces vanish, forced child marriage, trafficking, and armed recruitment surge.

On #InternationalMigrantsDay, we’re calling for an end to the Kafala system. After 40 years of work in Saudi Arabia, Ahmed Majeed had his passport confiscated and was trapped without pay. Kafala enables modern slavery. Stand with Ahmed. Sign the petition. www.freedomunited.org/ahmed-majeed...

The shock and grief gripping Kenyan families continues to deepen as more details emerge about how young men are being deceived into travelling to Russia—only to be trafficked, forced into combat, or disappear without a trace.

Spanish police identified over 300 potential victims of migrant labor trafficking, revealing that migrants are being targeted and trafficked to Spain and Europe more as part of a growing web of labor exploitation schemes.

More women are travelling alone along Mediterranean and Balkan routes, facing sexual violence, exploitation, and dangerous crossings. But restrictive EU asylum systems leave women unprotected, forcing them into perilous journeys.

ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is increasingly pressuring detained trafficking survivors to abandon legal protections and accept deportation. Families report threats of prosecution, family separation, and prolonged detention.

Most holiday shoppers assume goods are free from exploitation, but the “perfect gift” often comes at a hidden cost. With China’s expanding labor transfer scheme, products made across the country increasingly carry the risk of Uyghur forced labor.

🏆We're excited to announce that nominations are now open for the 4th annual For Freedom Awards! Know someone making a difference? Nominate them today and help us recognize their extraordinary work! 💫 👉Click on the link to submit your nominations: www.freedomunited.org/2026-for-fre...

Slavery continues to evolve, shifting into new forms that remain hidden across global industries. Though a century has passed since the Slavery Convention, millions are still trapped in contemporary forms of exploitation.

Women make up most of the global garment workforce, yet many face sexual harassment, unsafe conditions, union suppression, and poverty wages. Preventing modern slavery in the fashion industry requires confronting gender discrimination directly.

Children work long hours in California’s agricultural fields under hazardous conditions, often vomiting from the heat and developing blisters from chemicals. Weak enforcement of child labor laws and hostile immigration policies keep their suffering hidden.

A lawsuit against Apple alleges its supply chain still relies on ore linked to exploitative child and forced labor. The suit claims Apple misleads consumers about ethical sourcing, despite its public commitments to a “clean” supply chain. www.freedomunited.org/news/apple-c...

Hundreds of children are fleeing the terrifying conflict in El Fasher, Sudan. Many walked for days without food, fled armed groups in darkness, and lost contact with family, raising urgent fears of trafficking, sexual exploitation, and forced conscription. www.freedomunited.org/news/sudanes...

All gifts matched today! Freedom United does not accept government or corporate funding. Your gift fuels the work that exposes exploitation, pushes for accountability, & challenges the systems that allow modern slavery to thrive. 👉🧡 freedomunited.org/donate?utm_source=bluesky&utm_campaign=match

First it's Thanksgiving. 🦃 Then the shopping season begins with Black Friday and Cyber Monday, before we reach Giving Tuesday on December 2nd. So which day is best? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Traffickers are now using AI to trap and control women inside scam compounds in Cambodia and Myanmar. They alter the women’s faces and voices with AI, then force them into online romance schemes targeting men in wealthy countries. www.freedomunited.org/news/women-t...

60 left-behind Bangladeshi migrants reached Malaysia this week through Bangladesh's overseas program. But experts warn that workers continue to report exploitation and debt bondage, raising urgent concerns about government transparency & accountability.

Armed insurgents abducted 315 Nigerian girls in what has been called the “worst mass abductions the country has seen.” Authorities fear they may face forced labor, forced conscription, or forced marriage.

The Department of Justice quietly removed a congressionally mandated report on Indigenous American disappearances, deaths, and trafficking, claiming compliance with "anti-DEI" orders. Tell the DOJ to restore the report now: www.freedomunited.or...

The Department of Justice quietly removed a congressionally mandated report on Indigenous American disappearances, deaths, and trafficking, claiming compliance with "anti-DEI" orders. www.freedomunited.org/news/indigen...

This Tuesday, the Freedom United team is gathering live, and you’re invited. Reflections, trivia, raffles, and a chance to connect around the work of ending modern slavery. 📅 Dec 2 | 12–1pm ET 📍 Online (Zoom) Get your tickets here: donorbox.org/events/83272... Hope to see you there!

Libya’s smuggling economy has become a core part of its political system, driving detention, ransom, and forced labor. This week’s shipwreck off the coast, which killed 42 migrants, reflects how deeply this economy shapes every stage of migration through the region.

This Tuesday, the Freedom United team is gathering live, and you’re invited. Reflections, trivia, raffles, and a chance to connect around the work of ending modern slavery. 📅 Dec 2 | 12–1pm ET 📍 Online (Zoom) Get your tickets here: donorbox.org/events/83272... Hope to see you there!

Nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves—the core spices behind one of the world’s most popular holiday treats—carry a history of exploitation and violence, and are still linked to systems of slavery and exploitation in their supply chains today.

UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has unveiled “the most sweeping asylum reforms in modern times.” But anti-slavery campaigners warn the proposals will only increase vulnerability to trafficking, forced labor, and exploitation.

A US judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit brought by four Indonesian fishermen who survived slavery at sea—proof that companies like Bumble Bee will be held to account for ignoring modern slavery. 👏

For all survivors—of Epstein, and of every form of sexual exploitation—the vote to release the Epstein files is a victory that affirms a truth long denied: your voices matter, and when we stand together, even the most powerful cannot evade justice. ✊

The Myanmar military raided an online scam compound, but traffickers remain free. Across Southeast Asia, victims are coerced into scamming under threat, while governments’ limited raids fail to stop transnational criminal networks.

French authorities have opened an investigation into sex trafficking linked to Mohamed Al Fayed, the late businessman accused of years of sexual exploitation. The allegations reveal a pattern of abuse that spanned countries and decades.

Mediterranean civil rescue groups have cut all communication with the Libyan Coast Guard. Their coordinated action challenges an EU-backed system that continues sending people somewhere with a proven high risk of torture, rape, and forced labor.

The Audacity of Hope ✨ Join Freedom United this Giving Tuesday for an inspiring and fun event celebrating the hope that drives ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Storytelling • Trivia • Raffles • Lessons in change Sign up here: donorbox.org/events/...

Canada’s Supreme Court ruled to uphold laws criminalizing sex work, ignoring voices of 23 sex worker-led and migrant advocacy groups. The ruling perpetuates unsafe conditions, isolates workers, and reinforces vulnerability to abuse and exploitation. www.freedomunited.org/news/canadas...

After surviving a deadly Channel shipwreck, Ibrahim—a Sudanese refugee—is jailed as a “smuggler” for steering under threat. His case reflects a wider European trend of criminalizing vulnerable people crossing borders in search of safety. www.freedomunited.org/news/prosecu...

Thousands in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan are forced from schools, hospitals, and government offices into cotton fields, revealing that, despite official claims, forced labor remains entrenched in Central Asia’s cotton industry.

At 19, Kanti was trafficked to Los Angeles, forced to work for four years while her passport was confiscated. Decades later, she helped push Assembly Bill 1362 into law, strengthening protections for temporary migrant workers against trafficking and abuse.

Kavin came to the UK legally on a skilled worker visa, hoping for a better life. Instead, his employer seized his passport, forced him into grueling labor, and paid just £100 a month—exposing how weak visa protections leave migrants vulnerable to trafficking & exploitation.

China intimidated Sheffield Hallam University into halting research on Uyghur forced labor, using threats, censorship, and economic pressure. The university’s decision to suspend her work has sparked alarm over efforts to conceal the truth about the ongoing exploitation.

Ending child marriage would not erase family hardship, but it would draw a clear legal line protecting minors from coercion, exploitation, and abuse. So why do 34 US states still allow child marriage? www.freedomunited.org/news/america...

Despite the UK housing industry’s significant economic contribution and the political drive to increase housing supply, the risks of forced labor and labor exploitation are being largely overlooked.

Millions of South Sudanese children face the worst forms of labor. Flooding, disease, conflict and lost US aid push families to the brink of starvation, forcing girls to marry, boys into armed groups, and all children into exploitative work just to survive.

Poverty and rising living costs are pushing more people in the UK into sex work to survive. But a dangerous legal grey area criminalizes nearly every related activity, silencing workers and leaving them vulnerable to violence and sexual exploitation. www.freedomunited.org/news/uk-sex-...

Advocates warn that Utah’s proposed "homeless campus" resembles internment camps, criminalizing poverty to extract forced labor. The plan exploits loopholes in the 13th Amendment and turns the unhoused into a captive workforce under the guise of care. www.freedomunited.org/news/utah-ho...

15 cases of slave labor, including children and the elderly, have emerged in Brazil’s 2025 coffee harvest—five of which were linked to Starbucks. As the company continues to build its profit, modern slavery continues to be identified in its supply chains. www.freedomunited.org/news/starbuc...

The US and UK have taken coordinated action against a Cambodia-based crime network accused of running online scamming centers that trap trafficked workers in cyber slavery and steal billions each year.

Change the world… mostly without leaving your couch. 🛋️ Our Freedom Footprint Guide—created with input from survivors—shows how small, everyday actions can create real change for people and the planet. 👉 Get the guide here: www.freedomunited.or...

38 members of the EU Parliament are calling an end to EU funding for Libya’s coast guard, citing overwhelming evidence of human trafficking, shootings, and torture of migrants. Yet, the EU Commission continues to fund the abuse.