Over the last two years, STOP THE TRAFFIK (STT) has increased understanding of where human trafficking hotspots, routes and patterns lie and shared knowledge with appropriate authorities, individuals, communities, organisations and businesses to enable them to take more informed and targeted action to combat human trafficking.
In this report, we are presenting our model, sharing the successes of our awareness campaigns and introducing our research & intelligence core. You will be able to read about our business and community practice and how we harness the power of technology for good.
STOP THE TRAFFIK runs geo-targeted social media campaigns to raise awareness of human trafficking, to inform communities and individuals and to signpost to local organisations for help and support.
Our campaigns change people’s behaviours, increase calls for support and advice to local partners and have a wider impact within the communities we work with. For example, the Child Protection Club waiting lists of our partner Solidarity with Women in Distress increased by a third following the campaign raising awareness about child trafficking within Kisumu, Kenya.
At the heart of STOP THE TRAFFIK’s intelligence-led prevention model is research and intelligence. We transform raw data into useful insights that are then developed into informative and easily digestible visualised reports. These are shared with organisations, communities and individuals to enable an informed and targeted response.
In 2017 and 2018 we worked with businesses in the construction, education, hospitality and retail sectors that wanted to address the risk of modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. One of them is Whitbread, the UK’s largest hospitality company.
Our relationship with Whitbread developed from a service provider to a trusting partner and continues in 2019. It also had far-reaching impact:
“During an awareness-raising campaign in Worthing, we approached a local hotel for collaboration. The manager, a former Premier Inn employee, knew all about human trafficking through his training at Whitbread and was happy to engage with the campaign”
– Jane Myers, STT volunteer
We were invited to submit a written response to the Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act, and our recommendation was adopted in the review’s second interim report.
“A business culture which treats modern slavery prevention as a marketing technique will only ever commit to the easiest and lightest action possible, reducing effective due diligence to simply ticking a box. Only once modern slavery prevention is established as statutory business compliance will the majority of businesses commit to substantive change”
STT MSA Amendment Review written evidence
In partnership with police forces and local authorities in the UK, STOP THE TRAFFIK’s Community Coordinators work in multi-agency teams to build resilience to human trafficking within communities. At the heart of their work is collaboration, bringing together and supporting organisations and individuals to spot the signs of human trafficking, making them more aware of the risks and indicators, and encouraging appropriate response.
Every human trafficking story, no matter how brief, whether current or historic, is important and relevant – it may be the missing piece of the puzzle. The STOP APP, released in 2016, is a reporting tool collecting stories of trafficking that our analysts then transform into usable intelligence.
STOP THE TRAFFIK events in New York and London in October and November 2018 brought together over 320 attendees to learn about strategies for disrupting human trafficking. We heard from panels of industry experts – including Barclays, Deloitte, Facebook, IBM in, Citibank Manhattan District Attorney’s office – discussing the vital role of businesses, financial institutions and NGOs working together, the challenges involved in combating trafficking, and the need for collaboration across every sector to fight this crime.
STOP THE TRAFFIK teamed up with a range of partners from across academia, law enforcement, NGOs and the financial sector to develop the first ever international data hub. The TA Hub aims to facilitate the exchange of human trafficking information, allowing a multi-agency, intelligence-led approach to preventing human trafficking globally.
“A key focus for the coming year is to increase data sharing through the updated STOP APP and the Traffik Analysis Hub (TA Hub) which are starting to revolutionise global sharing of trafficking information. At the same time, we’re scaling our work through the formation of STOP THE TRAFFIK nodes with partners and affiliates in Singapore and the USA.
We could not, and will not, succeed without you. We hope you will join us on our journey ahead.
Only together we can STOP THE TRAFFIK.“
– Ruth Dearnley, OBESTOP THE TRAFFIK CEO
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News about what we're doing, campaign updates, and how you can get involved.
The first of its kind in combining; community empowerment, big data management and anti-trafficking expertise to disrupt, combat and prevent the global issues of human trafficking, modern slavery and exploitation.
News about what we're doing, campaign updates and how you can get involved.
