AWER Treasurer Rose Caplan led off the meeting by first thanking AWER President Victoria Seals for hosting AWER again with fine space and good food for our meeting.  Rose then introduced Ms. Rebekah Enoch, Program Manager at Freedom United, the world’s largest community dedicated to ending human trafficking and modern slavery, who presented on modern slavery and human trafficking. Rebekah's presentation covered various forms of modern slavery including cyber slavery, forced prison labor, orphanage trafficking, and Uyghur forced labor in China. Rebekah noted that the Freedom United team joined hands with Human Trafficking Search (HTS) in July 2023.  Rebekah served as the HTS Program Director for the two years prior.

Rebekah has more than 20 years of experience leading teams and developing campaign strategies for nonprofits in the U.S. and Australia. As a seasoned leader on issues of human rights and modern slavery, Rebekah specializes in outreach, engagement and community building using strong storytelling skills throughout her work. She holds a BA from San Francisco State University where she majored in International Relations and a Master of International Law from the University of Sydney. Rebekah is also currently a member of the Global Association of Human Trafficking Scholars and is a 2006 Truman Scholar. One of Rebekah’s fundamental values is that while the world is full of challenges and injustices, she always wants to be part of the team that works on solutions to - among other very important things - help end modern slavery. And while those dreams may not be realized today, she is dedicating her life to ensuring they might be realized tomorrow ... because modern slavery affects approximately 50 million people globally as of 2021.

Rebekah explained that modern slavery encompasses various forms of exploitation including commercial sexual exploitation, child slavery, domestic servitude, forced marriage, and forced labor. The key elements that define modern slavery are force, fraud, and coercion. A common misconception is that human trafficking requires movement across borders, when in fact it can occur within communities or even in one's home. She emphasized that vulnerability is a key factor in modern slavery, with people in desperate economic situations, those affected by climate change or political instability, and those without legal status being particularly at risk. Modern slavery today is less about "finding slaves" and more about "creating slaves" by exploiting vulnerable populations and trapping them in exploitative situations. The global estimate of 50 million people living in modern slavery conditions in 2021 is likely an undercount since much of this activity happens in the shadows.

Rebekah said forced marriage is a form of slavery.  An AWER member countered that people in forced marriages may not at all see themselves as victims of slavery ... nevertheless, Freedom United statistics includes such persons as being in a form of slavery, because their circumstances were not a free choice but have been required or forced upon them. Further, Rebekah explained anyone married under 18 is considered to be in a child marriage. Even when it's a cultural norm, there are people within those countries working to change these practices. When people are married at a younger age, they don't have legal rights to escape abusive situations. The movement to end child marriage is coming from inside these cultures, not just being imposed externally.

Victims, including the cyber industry, can also be included because there are many persons lured by false promises of a good job only to be forced to work with little or no pay, so rather than the job having an opportunity to better their lives, they become victims of pernicious schemes.  Rebekah pointed out the exception clause in the US Constitution’s 13th Amendment allowed prison labor. She also referred to the notorious Uyghur forced labor in China's Xinjiang region - denied by the Chinese government - involves the mass detention of this Muslim minority group in "education camps" where they are forced to work in industries including cotton picking, manufacturing, and solar panel production.

Freedom United’s Freedom Footprint Guide helps individuals assess how their choices impact supply chains and identify areas for change.

• The organization leads awareness-raising campaigns and amplifies survivors’ voices.

• They create petitions targeting corporations and politicians to push for policy and practice changes that address modern slavery.

• Freedom United partners with local organizations in affected countries rather than directly providing services.

• They collaborate with manufacturers, labor unions, journalists, and nonprofits to gather and broadly share information.

Rebekah emphasized that addressing modern slavery requires concerted, constant collective action, and that there are roles everyone can take to counter the forms of slavery.  She left AWER members with several sources of important information for those who want to join forces against forced labor and other forms of slavery. 

Resources mentioned during the meeting: 

•  Freedom United website: freedomunited.org

• Freedom Footprint Guide: freedomunited.org/freedom-guide-for-ending-modern-slavery/

• Belonging365.com - Resource for inclusive language and practices

• DiversityResources.com - Website mentioned during DEI discussion

— Neil Shorthouse, Keyway Speaker Reporter