Freedom for the Weekend: International Justice Mission

by Amanda Kloer · 2009-11-20 12:00:00 UTC
Topics:

Well, it's Friday afternoon, and that means the weekend is almost here! W00t! Perhaps you're reading this blog because you're bored at work or school and you're thinking about what you want to do this weekend. How about spending part of your weekend fighting slavery? Each week I'll profile a different anti-trafficking nonprofit who you can connect with to help free slaves and prevent slavery around the world. So, spend a couple hours this weekend getting to know this nonprofit through their website, and then get involved!

This Week's Profile: International Justice Mission

The Bottom Line: International Justice Mission (IJM) is a human rights agency that secures justice for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation, and other forms of violent oppression. IJM lawyers, investigators, and aftercare professionals work with local officials to ensure immediate victim rescue and aftercare, to prosecute perpetrators, and to promote functioning public justice systems.

What They Do: IJM focuses on victim relief and aftercare -- removing victims from situations of trafficking and helping them heal -- in Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America. They also have teams of professional and volunteer lawyers who work to prosecute traffickers and create legal reform in countries around the world.

What Can I Do?: You can volunteer for short periods of time in their Washington, DC office, or for longer periods of time overseas. They also have specific pro bono programs for lawyers. Or you can get involved as part of your church, community, or school. IJM accepts donations online as well.

Why They Rock: IJM has a tremendous capacity to leverage the law and lawyers in favor of human trafficking victims who really need legal justice. They are able to bring justice to victims around the world who otherwise might not get it.

So now that you've got some basic information on International Justice Mission, visit their website this weekend and get involved. And on Monday morning when everyone else is talking about sleeping in and watching TV over the weekend, you can say, "What did I do this weekend?  Oh, just the usual -- abolition of slavery."

Do you have a favorite nonprofit you'd like to see featured here?  If so, let me know!


Amanda Kloer is a Change.org Editor and has been a full-time abolitionist in several capacities for seven years. Follow her on Twitter @endhumantraffic
PREVIOUS STORY:
The Philippines Prevents Trafficking Around U.S. Military Bases in S. Korea
NEXT STORY:
Today is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, how are you going to take action?

COMMENTS (0)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.