National Freedom Day - The Fight Against Modern Slavery Continues

Today is National Freedom Day in the United States. It marks the signing of a resolution between US President Abraham Lincoln and Congress in 1865 that became the 13th Amendment. The amendment outlawed slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime, but it did not abolish slavery. 

We in Damayan recognize that genuine Black liberation was not achieved then, and we stand with our Black siblings who continue to suffer with Jim Crow laws, mass incarceration, prison labor, and police violence to this day. 

Today, there are more than 400,000 victims and survivors of labor trafficking and modern day slavery in the United States (Global Slavery Index), mainly trafficked domestic workers, that are exploited by unscrupulous employers. 

Majority of domestic workers trafficked by ambassadors and diplomats are working poor Filipino women. Damayan continues to give critical services to Filipino labor trafficking survivors, and educate, organize and mobilize them around to become social justice leaders, until genuine liberation has prevailed. 

Learn more statistics from the National Human Trafficking Hotline here: https://polarisproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Polaris-2019-US-National-Human-Trafficking-Hotline-Data-Report.pdf