Did You Know?
Human Trafficking Victims can be anyone. Victims can be young or old. They can be of any race, color, or […] […]
Did you know? Human Trafficking Awareness
According to the 2020 TIP Report, over the past five years, human traffickers have exploited both domestic and foreign national […] […]
January- Human Trafficking Awareness month
Did You Know? “We have a major issue here in the United States” Geoff Rogers, a co-founder of the United […] […]
Big Game Mission Brings Human Trafficking Awareness, Prevention and Rescue to Tampa Bay Area
Sponsorship and donation support needed to make this year’s event a success Preparations are underway for our upcoming Super Bowl […] […]
Painting Fundraiser Provides Fun, Creativity and Support for Tampa Bay Chapter
In a unique “twist” on the average fundraiser, the Tampa Bay chapter hosted a painting fundraiser recently at the local […] […]
Back to Basics: What is Human Trafficking
Post by: Zhanna Badasyan Well, what IS human trafficking? For some of us, we got our first glimpse of human […] […]
Tampa Bay Chapter Hosts Inaugural Swing With a Purpose Golf Tournament to Benefit Rescue, Rehabilitation, and Reintegration Programs
By Katelyn DiRaimo If you are looking for more ways to become involved in combating human trafficking, please join us […] […]
5 Simple Ways You Can Raise Funds for Rahab’s Daughters
This year has been an upheaval for everyone. The ongoing pandemic coupled with civil unrest and a contested election has […] […]
Information Is Power: 3 Myths & Facts About Human Trafficking
Human Trafficking, otherwise known as modern-day slavery, involves the illegal trade of people for exploitation or commercial gain. According to […] […]
Rahab’s Daughters Tampa Bay Chapter Partners with Created and the Underground Free Clinic to Bring Free STD Testing to Sexually Exploited Women
By Hanna Alexander We have some very exciting news! It brings us great pleasure to share that we have partnered […] […]
Keeping Our Loved Ones Safe: Tampa Bay Chapter Offers Deep Dive Into Internet Safety to Prevent Trafficking
Technology advances almost faster than any of us can keep up with, which is why education is so crucial to […] […]
The Missing Children No One is Looking For: How The Foster System Feeds Human Trafficking
This is a difficult post to write. The issue of human trafficking is vast, and can seem overwhelming. At Rahab’s […] […]
Urgent Call to Action: Help Milo the Way that He Has Helped Others
If you have been a part of the Rahab’s Daughters community, you know that our dogs are at the heart […] […]
Rahab’s Daughter’s Founder Participates in International Campaign Featuring Actor Liam Neeson
It’s A Penalty created an international campaign featuring award-winning actor Liam Neeson. The short film, produced by the UK-based organization raises […] […]
Dogs help Human Trafficking Victims
Dogs play a large part in human trafficking survivor assistance. When you hear of service dogs for victims, most people […] […]
10 Ways Parents Can Protect Their Children from Sex Trafficking
One of the most frequent questions we are asked is, “How do I protect my children from predators?” Numerous social […] […]
Looking for love during Quarantine?
If you are single and living alone right now, It’s natural to reach out for some companionship and human interaction using online dating […] […]
Technology and Trafficking – Keeping your loved ones safe.
Quarantine has us all a little on edge. Giving our kids more screen time seems like a great idea to […] […]
An Update from the Tampa Chapter: Moving Forward
In Florida, hurricane season and the stifling summer heat have arrived. Even though our state is gradually opening up, COVID-19 […] […]
You won’t Believe The Effect Pornography has on Children
Pornography is a topic that is hardly ever discussed, mostly because many who watch porn feel an enormous amount of shame brought on by others or themselves. Many young adults have personally shared with me that the desire to watch porn has stemmed from their childhood. I used to be naive to the fact that pornography could ever stem from a person’s childhood and carry for years into adulthood. As I reflect, I realize I was exposed to porn when I was 8 years old and I thank God it never became […]
Dating During COVID-19. The Good and the Bad.
I don’t know about you, but I have been trying to navigate through the new “social distancing” norm the best I can; but it has been rough! I am a people person. I enjoy being around people most of the time— different people that is, not just the ones I live with! I can only imagine the difficulty of adding a relationship to the mix while under a stay at home order. How will new relationships last? Are people being creative during this time or just giving up?As I think about different avenues of […]
COVID-19 and Human Trafficking. What is Happening Right Now?
The global COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated incredible societal changes that few people were anticipating. If you are self-isolating and figuring out how to work from home while homeschooling your children or you have just been laid off, we sympathize. Rahab’s Daughters is dealing with unexpected challenges, too.Thanks to COVID-19 our phones are ringing double time with women either trying to escape trafficking or because they are abandoned by their traffickers. Imagine being forced to provide […]
Tampa Chapter Launches with Successful “Trafficking in Our Neighborhood” Event
The Tampa Chapter has officially launched! And what a launch it has been – we haven’t yet secured the new safe house scheduled to open in June and we already have two rescues! Our chapter was received with open arms by the Tampa Bay area with more than 20 eager attendees to our kickoff event, “Trafficking in Our Backyard”. They came from all over the Bay area: Tampa, St. Pete, Sarasota and Clearwater to hear Sam present the cold, hard facts on trafficking activities here.It was sobering to hear […]
How Does Someone Become Trafficked at Super Bowl?
Cammie was a college student struggling to pay her tuition when she met her trafficker. He was a charismatic Romeo Trafficker who lured her into a relationship, promising to help and allow her to safely and quickly earn money by dancing for clients. Instead, he forced her into prostitution for two years. *Names have been changed to protect the rescue’s identity. How did this happen? Her story began in Manhattan, New York, where she encountered her trafficker. His charisma and ability to initiate […]
How do Organizations Fight Human Trafficking During the Super Bowl?
For the past 7 years, Rahab’s Daughters has visited the city that hosts the Super Bowl to help rescue potential human trafficking victims. This year, Rahab’s Daughters staff, along with 16 volunteers, visited both Orlando and Miami, FL for to perform rescues at both the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl. Our mission involves several partner organizations, whose help with on the ground coordination, data collection and analysis, and tireless labor is invaluable.According to the ASU School of Social Work, […]
Volunteers: Making a Difference Every Day in the Fight Against Human Trafficking. Rahab’s Daughters Needs You.
Volunteering is vital to all of us who operate in the plural sector. Nearly every charity, religious organization, professional association, and nonprofit organization rely on volunteers to perform everyday tasks and complete big projects. Nonprofits aren’t the only ones who benefit from this arrangement, though.Remember that bet Phoebe and Joey had on Friends? Phoebe set out to prove to Joey she could find a selfless good deed, an act from which the altruist experiences no benefit. Phoebe was […]
January is National Human Trafficking Awareness Month. Join Rahab’s Daughters in the Fight!
January is National Human Trafficking Awareness Month and Rahab’s Daughters is planning a full slate of events to engage and educate our community on human trafficking awareness, prevention, and defense. We will be all over the U.S. this month, preparing for our annual mission trip to The Big Game, and hosting several trainings and presentations alongside our partners. Want to get involved? Read on! Fight Like a Girl, Fight for a GirlOn January 28 and 29, Rahab’s Daughters will be presenting our […]
You Won’t Believe How Simple It Is To Donate to Rahab’s Daughters Every Time You Shop On Amazon
The 2019 giving season is upon us. As you make lists of the perfect gifts for your family, friends, teachers and mail carriers, don’t forget Rahab’s Daughters in your end-of-year giving plans. Every donation you make helps to combat human trafficking and allows us to continue our work rescuing and reintegrating survivors. One of the easiest ways to give is to make Rahab’s Daughters your selected charity on AmazonSmile. What is AmazonSmile?AmazonSmile is a version of Amazon.com that will donate […]
5 Ways to Encourage Sports Organizations to Recognize and Fight Human Trafficking
Sporting events provide us with gathering places, camaraderie, and common cause. National and international events, like the Super Bowl, the World Cup, and the biennial Olympic Games draw tens of thousands of people ready to cheer on their teams and engage in friendly competition. It can be easy to get caught up in the convivial nature of the events and miss the trade that is happening in the shadows. Large sporting events concentrate the demand for both sex and labor trafficking and the high […]
Technology and Human Trafficking: 5 Ways Tech is Helping to Solve the Problem and How You Can Help
In part one of our Technology and Human Trafficking series, we detailed the reasons why people can fall victim to online predeators and some simple ways you can help protect and defend against unwanted contact. This post, part two of the series, will address the ways technology can help fight human trafficking.While the changing nature of technology means that traffickers are increasingly present and harder to track, it also means that there are a growing number of ways to combat human […]
Technology and Human Trafficking: 4 Simple Steps You Can Take to Protect Against Online Contact from Predators
This post is the first in a two-part series about technology and trafficking. The second post covers technology available to law enforcement and the public to fight trafficking. The ever-changing, fast-paced world of technology has made it easier for criminals, especially human traffickers, to connect with and groom potential victims and to build anonymous, untraceable markets where victims can be sold or exploited. Social media, websites, and apps allow traffickers to easily avoid detection and […]
Rahab’s Daughters Annual Gala
Rahab’s Daughters Annual Gala Benefit Dinner is right around the corner. This year’s theme is a masquarade ball, symbolizing the mask that human trafficking often operates under. The gala begins at 6:00 pm on October 12, 2019 at the Marriott Northwest, 4800 Hoffman Blvd Hoffman Estates. Purchase Tickets According to the latest statistics from Polaris, In 2017 there were 8,759 cases of human trafficking reported to their National Human Trafficking Hotline and BeFree Textline in the U.S. alone. […]
Protect Your Kids – How to recognize catfishing
What does the term “catfishing” mean to you? if you’re anything like me, your mind may have conjured up images of an old Mtv show where the show host would track down and confront people that pose with false identities on various social media sites. Or maybe, you may have even yourself, created a false online profile in order to catch a boyfriend/girlfriend cheating on you.All joking aside, cat fishing does pose a real danger to our youth, and even vulnerable adults. Catfishing is the term used […]
Human Trafficking, It’s a lucrative crime!
The International Labor Organization estimates that human trafficking makes $150 billion annually. But what are the risks?The table below shows the Global Enforcement Data from the 2018 Trafficking in Persons Report. It describes the estimated amount of human trafficking prosecutions and convictions around the world each year.As you can see- the number of prosecutions is shockingly low for an industry that victimizes 20-30 million people around the world. Lasting legal consequences for human […]
10 Ways to Empower Women in the Workplace.
Women are still an underrepresented group in the workplace especially in senior roles. How can you change this in your workplace? 1. When bias is to blame, kill it at the root – have a zero-tolerance policy for sexism, even when thinly veiled as snark or sarcasm. Knowing that you can always squash those jokes or comments empowers our female employees to do the same and make it clear to everyone that that sort of humor isn’t funny. No one — male or female — feels supported when they’re constantly […]
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY – LET’S EMPOWER EACH OTHER
As a Gen Z it’s been hard to watch the two steps forward 1 step back for women around the world. Gender discrimination is still a real problem in the workplace and in society as a whole. At its most basic form, human trafficking is the buying and selling of people. It exists across continents and is facilitated through a variety of venues, but ultimately- human trafficking is an industry, and it profits from the exploitation of people.Human trafficking has been compared to modern-day slavery, […]
Human Trafficking in Door to Door Sales.
Your sitting at home comfortably on your couch when the doorbell rings. You look out the window and see a young person standing at your door, they may be collecting money for a charity, or selling something, but you pretend your not home and go back to your couch, never realizing that you just missed an opportunity to save the life of a human trafficking victim. Door to door sales crews often recruit vulnerable individuals, how do I know I was one of them. I was recruited to sell encyclopedias […]
Salespeople & Executives – Stop Human Trafficking while you Fly!
Road warriors like myself often come into and out of airports on autopilot. We are so numbed to the constant barrage of travel related nightmares like delays and crowds and TSA that we forget to be observant.What if I told you that you could change lives in the course of your work day by staying alert and reporting what you see. There are many warning signs that you can be aware of and here are the top 5.1 – AppearanceThe person is poorly dressed for the destination or has no luggage or a […]
Rahab’s Daughters & Founder Recognized in 14th Annual Stevie® Awards for Women in Business
Shining a spotlight on women executives, entrepreneurs and organizations run by women worldwide, winners in the 2017, 14th annual Stevie® Awards for Women in Business were announced on Friday, November 17. The Stevie Awards have been hailed as the world’s premier business awards.Sharmila “Sam” Wijeyakumar had been named a Finalist in the Female Executive of the Year category, for government or non-profit organizations with 10 or fewer employees, and flew to New York to receive the award. […]
10 ways your organization can stop human trafficking
Anyone can join in the fight against human trafficking. Human trafficking is defined as specified acts taken to exploit another person through “prostitution . . . or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.” [1]With a total global market value of 32 billion US dollars [2], illicit human trafficking ranks as the world’s third most profitable crime after illicit drug and arms trafficking. It is a […]
Announcing our annual gala… and what a difference each ticket makes.
Our annual gala benefit dinner, to benefit survivors of human trafficking, is right around the corner.What difference does your gala ticket purchase, make? Worlds, to trafficking survivors.As a grassroots organization, every fundraising event directly impacts how much we’re able to do.100% volunteer-run, leading multiple sting operations per year (36 rescues in 2016), keeping 3 safehouses with 14 beds open and running, and handling on average 50 cases at any given time from point of rescue […]
Unconditional love is the answer (Lisa’s story, part 3)
Lisa hadn’t finished middle school by the time she was trafficked. From 13 years onward, she never stayed in school. “There was never an opportunity,” says Sam Wijeyakumar, founder of Rahab’s Daughters. So, Lisa piecemeals 1.5 high school credits until her rescue at age 17.Naturally, one of the first goals we had for Lisa, after settling her in a group home, was getting her enrolled in school. But the path back to reintegration is never a straight line.Part of how Rahab’s Daughters works with […]
Rescue is just the first step: It takes a village (Lisa’s story, part 2)
After our primary role of preventing trafficking, through education and advocacy, Rahab’s Daughters rescues, rehabilitates and reintegrates trafficking victims.As labor- and planning-intensive—and often dangerous—as the initial rescue may be, it is just the first step in a long process, from meeting basic human needs through giving the rescues the emotional tools, education and vocational skills to thrive. We can’t—and don’t—do it alone.When a person has been enslaved, they are stripped of […]
Trafficking happens in the suburbs too (Lisa’s Story, Part 1)
“My life before I met you all was like a maze.”–Lisa, sex trafficking survivor, referred to Rahab’s Daughters by the FBI.A common myth about trafficking and the sexual exploitation of children is that “It doesn’t happen here.”Like many children at her middle school, Lisa was an average student, working hard for her grades. Her favorite subjects centered around creative expression; she is a naturally gifted singer and poet.The affluent Chicago suburb where she was born and raised is nicknamed […]
Let’s Keep Fighting for Freedom!
It’s such an amazing thing to celebrate freedom today! It’s something many take for granted but I know 1st hand that freedom can be elusive. For more than 27 million today freedom will be elusive because they are being used as slaves. This number is so hard for me to fathom, and it seems overwhelming. Today slavery looks very different to that of the past but it is no less a lack of freedom, children of average age 11 or 12 are coerced into becoming sex or domestic slaves.Read this latest […]
It Could Be Your Loved One!
So many believe that Human Trafficking is not something that happens locally but a crime that happens in far off 3rd world countries. But they would be wrong! Human Trafficking happens everywhere. In Illinois about 16000 people are trafficked every year. […]
What is Human Trafficking?
For almost as long as I have understood what a prostitute is I have realized that our societal views on the subject are pretty divided. One school of thought is extremely judgemental and condemns prostitutes for making the choice to perform sexual acts for money. The other school of though the one I belong to agrees that “choice” is rarely a part of the equation. This is where Human Trafficking comes in. So firstly lets define Human Trafficking, according to the definition by Homeland Security […]