Freedom Fund

Imagine being forced to work without pay, unable to walk away, subject to threats and violence. This is the daily reality for millions living in modern slavery. Though every country has declared slavery illegal, modern slavery traps an estimated 46 million* people around the world.

Modern slavery takes many forms, and is known by many names. It entraps men, women and children forced to work long days in dangerous and punishing conditions - to make bricks, peel prawns, mine tin and gold, pick cotton, and weave carpets. Girls and women imprisoned in brothels and raped every night. Young boys forced to become child soldiers. Girls sold off into forced marriages. It can be called human trafficking, forced labour, slavery, or it can refer to the slavery-like practices that include debt bondage, forced or servile marriage, and the sale or exploitation of children.

No matter what it is called, victims of modern slavery have their freedom denied, and are used, controlled, and exploited by another person for commercial or personal gain.

Slavery causes terrible suffering to its victims, but it is more than just an individual crime. It is also a cancer that eats away at the wider health of our economies and communities, and a symptom of greater societal failures. Ending slavery not only extinguishes an injustice, but also enables people to freely contribute to their community, creating greater prosperity.

The Freedom Fund is a new philanthropic initiative designed to bring much-needed financial resources and strategic focus to the fight against modern slavery. With a team of experts and a global perspective, the Freedom Fund aims to raise $100 million by 2020 for smart investments to reduce slavery in the countries and sectors where it is most concentrated.

Our mission is to mobilise the capital and knowledge needed to end slavery. We generate private funding by demonstrating how effective interventions can protect those at risk of being enslaved and free those in slavery. We invest in those countries and sectors with the greatest incidence of slavery. We analyse which interventions work best, and we share that knowledge. We bring together a community of activists committed to ending slavery and empowered by the knowledge of how best to do so.

For further information on the Freedom Fund, please visit our website at www.freedomfund.org. Let’s end modern slavery, together.

*Global Slavery Index 2016