Support our heroes this Women’s Day!
By Miriam Karmall From Freedom United
| It’s International Women’s Day this Sunday, March 8, and we’re celebrating four women in the Freedom United community who are using their lived experience to lead the charge in the anti-slavery movement to demand change – find out how below. Celebrate International Women’s Day by showing your support for these women’s work. Add your voice to their fight, show your friends their campaigns and raise awareness about the great work they do to end modern slavery. |
| Donate to support campaigns like these |
| How does gender inequality relate to modern slavery? When 71% of modern slavery victims globally are women and girls,[1] there is an indisputably gendered element to this crime.But women and girls are so much more than these statistics. |
Payzee Mahmod Payzee’s campaign to end coerced child marriage in the UK is a personal fight for her. Payzee and her sister, Banaz, were pressured into marriage at just 16 and 17 years old. Banaz was later murdered in a so-called ‘honor’ killing for leaving her abusive husband. We’re inspired by Payzee’s determination to demand the UK criminalize child marriage so that her and her sister’s stories aren’t repeated. Payzee will be personally handing over your signature to the Prime Minister’s Office in a matter of days.Sign the petition today to make sure your name is included. |
| Sign Payzee’s petition |
| Sophie Otiende As a former survivor advocate at Awareness Against Human Trafficking (HAART) Kenya[2] working to empower women and girls who have experienced modern slavery, Sophie’s perspective has been crucial in developing our My Story, My Dignity campaigndemanding people’s experiences of modern slavery are represented accurately and with dignity. Watch Sophie explain why the My Story, My Dignity campaign is so important. Mark International Women’s Day by committing to represent women and girls with dignity – sign and share the pledge today. |
| Sign the My Story, My Dignity Pledge |
| Nancy Nancy is a survivor of human trafficking in the UK who has been calling on the government to allow her to remain in the country so that she may recover from her experiences and rebuild her life. Despite being formally recognized as a victim of trafficking, Nancy has been given just months to remain in the UK after which time she may be forced to return to Nigeria where her traffickers await. Nancy chose to tell her story so that other survivors like her are given a chance to recover. We won’t stop fighting for Nancy. Add your voice to the campaign today or leave a note of support in the comments – we’ll make sure she receives your message. |
| Sign Nancy’s petition |
| Minh Dang We’re grateful to Minh and her organization, Survivor Alliance,[3] for reviewing our content guidelines that set out what steps we are taking at Freedom United to ensure our content is respectful of survivors’ experiences. Together, we’ve created a pledge to ask organizations and individuals to commit to safe and ethical interactions with survivors at events. Sign the pledge today and stand in solidarity with survivors this International Women’s Day. |
| Sign the events pledge |
| We want to thank these women for their tireless work and leadership to end modern slavery. Join us in celebrating them, and all women, by supporting their work today. In solidarity, Miriam, Allan, Herrana, Joanna and the whole Freedom United team |
[1] https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@dgreports/@dcomm/documents/publication/wcms_575479.pdf
[2] https://haartkenya.org/
[3] https://survivoralliance.org/
