Unlock the potential of children in slavery

10 million children locked in slavery

According to last month’s UN estimates, there are over 10 million children in slavery across the world. That’s 1 in 4 of the people who are in slavery worldwide.

That’s 10 million children whose futures are locked away, who will never realise their potential. Their futures are ruined by slavery. We all have dreams and aspirations when we are young. But children in slavery are denied their freedom and denied the chance to pursue their ambitions.

Help put a stop to this by supporting our campaign to unlock the future of children in slavery.

With 182 years’ experience of successfully fighting slavery, Anti-Slavery knows how much work is needed, not only to free children from their exploiters, but also to make sure that children are not vulnerable to falling into slavery again.

This can be seen in our work with children who fall into domestic slavery in Tanzania.

Unlocking the future of children in Tanzania

There are an estimated 1 million children doing domestic work in Tanzania, most of them girls. Poverty and hardship in rural areas force children to migrate to cities to find jobs in private households. Many girls also run away from home to avoid domestic abuse or forced marriage.

Far from their families and vulnerable to exploitation, children are denied the salaries they are initially promised.

They are forced to work gruelling long hours and have little chance of attending school and getting an education. Many are subjected to physical and sexual abuse.

This is just one of the many forms that modern slavery can take.

Anti-Slavery’s project in Tanzania partners with local grassroots organisations to help girls like Sophia escape slavery. We provide shelter and support for individual victims, ensuring younger children are reunited with their families, and older children – should they wish to continue working – can do so in safe conditions and with employers that treat them fairly and respect their right to pursue their dreams and ambitions outside of work.

But as an organisation we aim higher – we want to tackle the root causes of slavery and change the conditions that allow slavery to happen.

• We provide a safe space for child domestic workers where they can learn about their basic rights, such as a fair salary, a contract of employment and time off to attend school or training.
• We build their confidence and organise them in committees, so they can stand up for their own rights
• We reach out to employers and show them the benefits of treating their staff fairly and with respect.
• We facilitate a dialogue in local communities to change the attitudes towards children at work

This is the beginning of a process of challenging the social norms that allow abuse and exploitation to take place. This holistic approach has been extremely successful and we saw many children grow in confidence, leave abusive situations and pursue their dreams.

How we unlock children’s futures

Tanzania is only one example of our work to unlock the future of children in slavery. Please read below about our work to support children in slavery to realise their potential in other countries across the world.

We know very well that fighting child slavery is not merely about freeing children from their traffickers. It is about building their futures away from slavery to ensure that the cycle of slavery is broken.

We want to raise awareness of the extent of child slavery: not only the number of children it affects, but also the need to address this complex problem in a long-term, sustainable way.

Please join us to end child slavery, by making a donation and sharing our message about unlocking the future of children in slavery with others.