My name is Ruth Dearnley, CEO of STOP THE TRAFFIK. My life's mission has been to create a world where people are not bought and sold. For 20 years, STOP THE TRAFFIK has been preventing vulnerable people from being exploited. To date, we have supported over 20 million individuals.
This July, to mark World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, I will be walking 10 hours overnight to raise awareness and funding to support our goal of stopping 10 million people from being trafficked in the next year.
Human trafficking is a pervasive, international human rights abuse. This organised crime is one of the most profitable businesses in the world.
"There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in." - Desmond Tutu
This is exactly what STOP THE TRAFFIK strives to achieve. We are going upstream, to prevent trafficking at its root by challenging the traffickers' market, undermining all three levers: recruitment, money, and demand. If we innovate to disrupt, driven by data and intelligence, enabled by technology, and operate across trusted networks, we will be able to STOP THE TRAFFIK.
Join our cause today, and help create a world where people are not bought or sold.