Unwrap the Truth

Independent UK-based charity STOP THE TRAFFIK, a pioneer in data-led prevention of human trafficking and modern slavery, today urged donors and philanthropists to support the launch of an ambitious Christmas fundraising campaign that will help its mission to bring an end to human trafficking and modern slavery worldwide.

The campaign, 'Unwrap the Truth', acknowledges that Christmas is a special time for expressing love for others through gift-giving but shines a light on the fact that many popular gift choices (including clothes, technology products, chocolates, and jewellery) are produced by the more than 28 million people1 thought to be trapped in forced labour worldwide.

While encouraging donors to give generously to the campaign, STOP THE TRAFFIK also urges all consumers to shop ethically this Christmas and, where possible, to seek out slavery-free brands.

“Human trafficking is often hidden in plain sight, including in many of the gifts we like to give at Christmas, but very few people are aware that such gifts can come with a hidden cost of exploitation,” said Rebekah Lisgarten, CEO of STOP THE TRAFFIK. “This Christmas, we want to unwrap the truth and scale of this problem while giving donors and philanthropists an opportunity to help us expand our efforts to use data to disrupt human trafficking networks.”

“If we are able to raise £40,000 or more through our ‘Unwrap the Truth’ campaign, we will be able to significantly scale our human trafficking prevention programmes through new geo- targeted social media safety awareness campaigns in 2025,” she added. “These critical programmes are proven to disrupt exploitation by empowering at-risk communities to take preventative action and seek legitimate support. In the last 10 years, STOP THE TRAFFIK safety campaigns have reached over 25 million people, and we have prevented over 3,100 people from entering modern slavery and human trafficking.”

'Unwrap the Truth' is a Big Give matched fundraising campaign. The campaign is championed by the Helen and Michael Brown Charitable Trust, which will match all donations made between 12:00 GMT on 3 December 2024 and 12:00 GMT on 10 December 2024.