They Were Slaves Themselves – Now These Women Want to Fight Human Trafficking

A pilot project conducted in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu aims to recruit female slavery survivors and train them to become anti-trafficking campaigners in communities with a high risk of modern slavery.

Freedom Rising wants to “bring the lived experience of women and survivors to the anti-slavery movement”, says Claire Falconer, the head of the project launched by anti-trafficking non-profit the Freedom Fund. “The aim is to give an authenticity to the voice of the movement as their survivors’ perspective is critical to the work of changing the conditions that lead people to be exploited.”

Every woman chosen to take part in the new programme will undergo a minimum of 12 months of mentoring, leadership and technical training. Upon graduating, they will join the Freedom Rising alumni network. Each cohort will consist of 50 leaders in different states. “I’m hoping this programme will help me learn new skills (to) reach out to more people,” says Jayashree Ponrajan, former slave and candidate for the initiative. “Then, change will happen faster.” Freedom Fund wishes to roll out their programme to other parts of India, but also in Nepal, in Thailand and in Ethiopia.