Traffickers target victims into taking loans to meet urgent needs, then exploit them by inflating debts, forcing victims into bonded labor to pay off the debt indefinitely. This is how a 1,000 Rupee loan trapped Kuppan* in an endless cycle of false debt that enslaved multiple generations of his family.
Tomorrow, the CEOs of Meta, Snap, TikTok, Discord and X will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee to discuss online child sexual exploitation of children (OSEC) – a crime IJM has been fighting for over a decade. Learn more about the legislation designed to protect children.
John Tanagho, IJM’s Director of the Center to End Online Sexual Exploitation of Children wrote an op-ed in The Hill outlining the importance of the EARN IT Act in determining a way forward to better protect children online, while ensuring privacy and free speech are still intact.
“This stands out as one of the most robust sentences we, at IJM, have witnessed in a conviction for a case of online sexual exploitation of children. Convictions like this help to intensify the deterrence of this crime” said lawyer and IJM Cebu Director Lucille Dejito.
In 2022, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) CyberTipline received more than 32 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation. The REPORT Act aims to improve the reporting and prosecution of perpetrators and advance online protection measures for children around the world.
Wonka, the blockbuster hit that won the box office this past holiday season, reveals itself to be a surprising opportunity to talk and educate about the realities of human trafficking.
