Human Trafficking and Modern Day Slavery: How You Can Become an Activist

1. Enlist the support of your Rabbi. Ask her or him to speak about the Committee from the Bima.
2. Form a committee. Even two dedicated people are enough to get started. Members or participants with a background in social work, psychology, education or law will be helpful.
3. Write a Mission Statement. What are your goals, which victims/perpetrators are you going to focus on, who are you going to educate? Focus on a couple of areas that are manageable.
4. Find out which Christian groups in your area are working against human trafficking, contact them and invite them to your meetings. Form an interfaith coalition that will provide support in your work. Attend their meetings and conferences. Share your contact lists and your work.
5. Educate yourselves on the issue. Search for material on human trafficking, prostitution, pornography and sexual abuse of women and children in newspapers and magazines and respond to those that are objectionable. Read books. Watch the news for related stories. Surf the internet. Set up ‘Google’ to automatically send you articles on human trafficking. Find out who are the key organizations working against human trafficking and read their websites.
6. Become familiar with the law as it relates to prostitution. Make contact with your local MP’s. Get their support. Write to your government representatives to push for funding for victims, shelters, prevention programs, education of police and prosecutors.
7. Contact your local police and RCMP. Invite them to a meeting to discuss the human trafficking situation in your city and what you can do to provide them with support. Know your home town, the areas where the strip clubs and the nude dancing and lap dancing clubs are located.
8. Go public: organize a program on human trafficking in your synagogue, advertise it, set up a display. A film or guest speaker or a discussion group is a good way to attract some interest in your committee and its work.
9. Make the administration of your synagogue aware of your committee and its work. Address the Board of Trustees and the Executive. Stay visible in your synagogue’s bulletin.
10. Network with other anti-trafficking groups and individuals to find out what they are doing. Support one another.
11. Use the Jewish calendar to talk about slavery, for example Passover as a time to remember when we were enslaved in Egypt and Shavuot, when we learn how to use our freedom. Look to make connections with Torah, texts and traditions, holidays and issues of human trafficking/slavery, prostitution/gender equality.
12. Support the fight against human trafficking in Israel by connecting with ATZUM.