Is Your Chocolate Made From Forced Child Labor?
Sign a petition asking Hershey's to source cocoa from ethical suppliers
Hello Activists,
We hope you are looking forward to a beautiful spring! This week we featured articles, action items, and a podcast on forced labor so you can be a part of the movement to end modern slavery practices. We call on our readers to be conscious of the products we buy and companies we support. We hope you can spread awareness and educate others on this very important issue that doesn’t always come up in conversations about human trafficking but nevertheless needs to be a major part of our advocacy. Thank you for fighting against exploitation with us and as always, we welcome your feedback.
Let’s take action together
Approximately 1.7 million children work in horrible, dangerous conditions in the West African cocoa industry. The Raise the Bar Hershey’s campaign has sent a petition to Hershey’s Board of Directors asking them to responsibly source cocoa from independently certified suppliers who comply with international labor rights standards. Hershey’s failed to respond, so this petition will go to the Milton Hershey School Trust, who owns a large part of Hershey’s Chocolate Company, as well.
👉Click here to sign the petition.
Click here to learn more about our “why”.
As always, thanks for being part of our growing community of activists and as a reminder, we love hearing from you! All feedback is welcome!
This Week..
ACTIVISTS OF THE WEEK:
Diana Mao
Photo credit to: Nomi Network
Diana Mao is the President and Co-Founder of the Nomi Network, an organization based in New York City that combats human trafficking by creating pathways to safe employment, empowering women and girls to break cycles of slavery in their families and communities. Her passion for fighting human trafficking was fueled when she personally witnessed the horrors of sex trafficking while conducting research in Cambodia for a micro-finance bank.
Her deep expertise in governmental consulting, domestic and international economic development, social entrepreneurship, micro-finance, and launching awareness raising campaigns have pushed the Nomi Network to great success. Currently she is a Co-Chair for the Nexus Human Trafficking and Modern Day Slavery Working Group, on the Advisory Board of the Equality Fund, and a former Mentor for The Bush Center Women's Initiative Fellowship. Diana is also a 2015 Presidential Leadership Scholar, New York Academy of Medicine Fellow, and co-chaired the Nexus Human Trafficking Modern Day Slavery Work Group from 2013-2019. She has written for the Huffington Post and Reuters.
👉Read more about her work here.
👉Read more about the Nomi Network and how you can support their fight against trafficking here.
FOR YOUR EYES:
Feds Find 31 Missing North Texas Children After Human Trafficking Operation
Inside a Massive Anti-Trafficking Charity's Blundering Overseas Missions
FOR YOUR EARS:
👉 If you enjoy staying informed about the stories, initiatives, and people within the counter human trafficking movement, share to tell others about it:
FOR YOUR EYES
Photo credit to: Washington Post
Five Myths About Human Trafficking: Read about five common misconceptions the public has about human trafficking and why these myths are harmful to survivors and victims.
Photo credit to: News Channel 11
Feds Find 31 Missing North Texas Children After Human Trafficking Operation: Federal agencies partnered with Arlington, Dallas, Fort Worth and Grand Prairie police departments to find 31 missing minors, some of whom were being trafficked. Read more about this operation here.
Photo credit to: Business Insider
A Lawsuit is Accusing 7 Chocolate Makers of Complicity in Child Labor and Trafficking in the Cocoa Trade: Human rights group International Rights Advocates has filed a federal class action lawsuit against mega chocolate makers like Nestle and Hershey alleging complicity in child trafficking and forced child labor. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of eight men who say they were forced to harvest cocoa in the Ivory Coast after being trafficked as children.
Photo credit to: Vice
Inside a Massive Anti-Trafficking Charity's Blundering Overseas Missions: Operation Underground Railroad claims to save children from trafficking and slavery but people on the ground describe disturbingly amateurish operations that could endanger trafficking victims. Despite our previous support of the anti-trafficking work that Operation Underground Railroad leads, new lawsuits and reports of fraud and mismanagement are incredibly alarming.
FOR YOUR EARS:
Photo credit to: Apple Podcasts
Ending Human Trafficking Podcast 245: (podcast, 28 minutes) Dr. Sandie Morgan and Katherine Chon, OTIP Director and former Activist of the Week on our newsletter, discuss the purpose and tasks of the Office on Trafficking in Persons. They also explain the importance of data collection and the exchange of information in the fight to end human trafficking.
Photo credit to: Slave FREE Today
Slave Free Today Episode 15: (podcast, 36 minutes) Dr. Tina Davis and Giulia Laganà discuss the situation for migrant farm workers in Europe. Migrant workers in the agriculture sector are particularly vulnerable and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic has only worsened their conditions.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this issue of Liberty Line, a weekly newsletter dedicated to providing you with the most pertinent information surrounding the stories, initiatives, and people within the counter human trafficking and sexual exploitation movement. To learn more about the The Liberty Coalition, visit: www.thelibertycoalition.com