Last year, the Migration Advisory Committee published a detailed review of the UK’s Seasonal Worker visa scheme, recommending reforms to curb exploitation of migrant workers. But the government has refused key changes, leaving workers vulnerable to trafficking.

A Brazilian people smuggler who used her cleaning company to traffic people into a life of modern slavery has been jailed. www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/h...

A Denver court has ruled that the Colorado Department of Corrections violated the state constitution by forcing incarcerated people to work under threats of punishment. The case was brought by incarcerated plaintiff on behalf of thousands of people in state custody.

A new UN report finds migrants in Libya face torture, forced labor, and repeated resale within a system where exploitation functions as a business model. Experts urge governments to halt returns to Libya and strengthen search and rescue efforts.

Children with disabilities are being trafficked for forced begging in Ethiopian cities, with some deliberately being injured. Researchers call for stronger protections as people with disabilities remain largely overlooked in anti-trafficking efforts.

The arrest of the former Duke of York on allegations he shared confidential material with the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, tests institutional accountability in human trafficking, and influence whether survivors feel safe reporting abuse.

A relief to those who were at the brink of losing hope in the law. Virgina's family said: “For survivors everywhere, Virginia did this for you.” 🙌🏼

Executions won’t end exploitation. Behind Myanmar scam centres are thousands trafficked, detained, and forced to defraud others. Justice must dismantle criminal networks — and protect victims. www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/...

UN experts warn forced labor of Uyghur and Tibetan minorities in China continues. But US enforcement of the law meant to block these goods is falling. Clearly if forced labor persists, then why are shipments still allowed to pass through? www.yahoo.com/news/article...

Ohio is one of 34 states still allowing girls under 18 to marry. Now, a bipartisan bill seeks to close that gap permanently and make marriage for any minor illegal, no exceptions.

The UK relies on migrant care workers—yet traps them in employer-tied visas where the threat of deportation silences abuse. Now forcing them to wait 15 years, not five, for settlement will prolong that fear and dependency, deepening exploitation risks.

53 migrants, including 2 infants, are presumed dead after a boat capsized off Libya’s coast. Rights monitors say the tragedy reflects a system that accepts death and severe human rights violations as the price of keeping migrants out.

Taiwan’s offshore wind boom is hailed as clean energy progress—but migrant workers report crippling recruitment debts, withheld wages, confiscated passports, and deportation threats.

Social media platforms are central to child sex trafficking in the US, where predators exploit direct messages, weak age checks, and deepfakes to target minors. Big Tech is aware, but evading accountability through Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

New Zealand currently has legislation criminalizing slavery & trafficking offences. However, it lacks standalone modern slavery legislation. But MPs are advancing a Modern Slavery Bill that would introduce mandatory reporting for large businesses and strengthen protections.

California remains 1 of just 4 US states with no minimum legal age for marriage, placing girls at significant risk of forced marriage. Repeatedly, bills introduced aiming to change the law have failed. Why won’t California pass simple, common-sense legislation?

The EU’s new migration plan doubles down on already cruel practices. By expanding deportations and outsourcing enforcement to countries with documented abuse, the policy dehumanizes migrants and prioritizes control over protection and human rights.

A child trafficking and illegal surrogacy network operating under the guise of an orphanage was dismantled in Nigeria. The incident raises fresh concerns about the commodification and exploitation of children through fraudulent care institutions.

The US Department of Justice released 3.5 million pages of Jeffrey Epstein files. While touted as transparency, it exposed survivors' identities triggering harassment, threats, and renewed trauma—all without bringing any new charges against powerful abusers and enablers.

🧵 GEO Group runs more immigration detention beds than any other private contractor in the US. And they're forcing detained people to work for $1 a day while charging them $11 for toothpaste. 1/6

Justice should hold perpetrators accountable — not re-traumatize and make survivors vulnerable. Why did the DOJ do this? They are failing survivors. www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

In Brazil, the same industries that clear forests are also trapping workers in slave-like conditions. Behind cattle, charcoal and sugarcane production are thousands of people facing threats, unsafe conditions and extreme exploitation.

Bangladeshi migrant workers in Malaysia face debt bondage and exploitation under a corrupt recruitment system, with exorbitant fees, forced labor, and little protection. Powerful intermediaries like Aminul Islam profit, while workers suffer brutal harm.

Locked inside a foreign diplomat's London home and forced to work 17-hour days, a migrant domestic worker has won a historic victory. In a first, UK court ordered the UAE to pay millions, challenging diplomatic immunity.

Many Australians, like in other Western countries, believe forced marriage is something that happens "elsewhere", but reports show it is rising. Schools can play a critical role in spotting the warning signs and protecting vulnerable children. www.freedomunited.or...

Renewed alarm over forced labor affecting ethnic minorities in China with coercive elements "so severe" they may amount to "crimes against humanity." Yet US efforts to block goods linked to forced labor from entering the country have sharply declined.

Powered by community support, the 2026 For Freedom Awards winners are here. 🎉 Their leadership helped protect survivors, expose abuse, and push for systemic change when it mattered most. Congratulations: @en.sea-watch.org Beyond Slavery View the winners here: www.freedomunited.or...

A UK court has ruled in a case of modern slavery that went undetected for almost 25 years. It’s a reminder that modern slavery doesn’t always look how we expect—and why awareness is essential.

The death of a Filipino migrant worker has exposed exploitation under Australia’s training visa scheme. Evidence of excessive hours, withheld documents, and fear has prompted calls for urgent reforms to strengthen migrant worker protections.

In Iran, brutal crackdowns, internet blackouts, and restrictions on journalists are not incidental. They are part of a strategy to obscure the scale of repression—and the broader human rights abuses and conditions for modern slavery to flourish.

As demand for the furry figurines known as Labubu surged worldwide, workers at a factory in China’s paid the price. Workers say they faced excessive overtime, unsafe conditions, exploitation, and a lack of basic labor protections.

Authorities uncovered the underground prison in Libya, where traffickers held migrants in severe conditions. Security sources said the facility sat nearly three meters below ground and held people, including women and children, for months and even years.

A woman identified in court as K was 16 when she was moved into the home of Mandy Wixon, a mother of ten, in Gloucestershire, UK. Over the next 25 years, she was subjected to horrific abuse and forced domestic servitude.

Major companies wield enormous power over the global economy. Yet new evidence shows they are still failing to address the human rights abuses that leave millions of workers vulnerable to exploitation and modern slavery.

A new report led by modern slavery survivors is challenging governments to rethink how they approach recovery and prevention. Systems designed to help survivors are falling short, and meaningful change will only happen when survivors shape the solutions.

Whether through conversation, care, or collective action, change happens when we show up for the things that matter. Today, we honor Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy by continuing to speak out for justice and freedom for all. Join us: www.freedomunited.or...

EU governments seek to narrow human rights protections, prioritizing deportation over protection. By recasting migrants as security threats, the move weakens safeguards, drives people underground, and undermines anti-trafficking principles.

Voting is OPEN for the 2026 For Freedom Awards! Help decide who will be honored for driving real, meaningful change to end modern slavery. Congrats to all the nominees: David Yambio @sunitajainlls.bsky.social Labour Behind the Label Vote here before Jan 29th: www.freedomunited.or...

Slavery abolition laws focused on ending legal ownership, not the exploitative economic systems behind it. That gap allowed forced labor to reemerge in forms that were technically legal, harder to see, and easier to defend.

Last year, the US Department of Justice failed to release funds approved by Congress to support more than 3,000 trafficking survivors. But thanks to months of sustained public pressure from our community, the DOJ has released $88M. 🎉 Read our success story: www.freedomunited.org/wins/traffic...

We did it. ✊ After months of public pressure, the DOJ has released $88M in delayed funding for trafficking survivor services—protecting 3,000+ survivors. This happened because you insisted on it. Thank you for being part of this win. Read our success story here: www.freedomunited.or...

Last week, US representatives raised concerns about the government’s reallocation of law-enforcement resources from trafficking to immigration enforcement. They join advocates in warning this reprioritization puts more people at risk of trafficking.

In 2025, Kenya continued to sit at the center of multiple human trafficking routes, operating both within the country and across its borders where trafficking networks recruit, move, and exploit people.

Wisconsin is poised to join a growing movement to end child marriage, introducing a bill to ban marriage under 18 with no exceptions. The proposal would close an exploitative loophole and signal renewed momentum to ban child marriage everywhere. ✨

The human cost of the UK’s “one in, one out” asylum scheme reveals how detained people on the move are being subjected to psychological harm, denied safeguards, and pushed into conditions that heighten the risk of trafficking and modern slavery.

South Korea is taking a promising step to end migrant worker exploitation to ensure dignity at work and protect workers from abuse—regardless of visa status—while building momentum for safer, fairer migration. 🌍

Voting is OPEN for the 2026 For Freedom Awards! Help decide who will be honored for driving real, meaningful change to end modern slavery. Congrats to all the nominees @davidyambio.bsky.social @en.sea-watch.org @sunitajainlls.bsky.social Vote here: www.freedomunited.org/2026-for-fre...

The US Department of Justice failed to distribute nearly $90 million in funds for organizations providing support for survivors of human trafficking. #Anti-trafficking experts say that failure is putting survivors at risk of homelessness, criminalization, or re-exploitation.

Across the US, over 200 ICE detention centers operate out of public view, subjecting people to forced labor. Far from reflecting a lodestar of civil liberty, such abuses contradict proclaimed American values and violate basic human rights. Read the Speak Free at the link.

📢 The 2025 For Freedom Community Awards nominations close in 2 days! Know someone or an organization who deserve recognition for their work in the anti-slavery space? Review the categories and make your nomination(s) by Jan 6th here: www.freedomunited.or...