IJM 2015 Mid Year Report
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international justice mission 2015 Mid Year Report ambushed and afraid Benedeta’s Story PAGE 13 OUR VISION Rescue thousands. Protect millions. Prove that justice for the poor is possible. 2 INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE MISSION ABOUT IJM We are International Justice Mission. Our global team has spent nearly 20 years on the front lines fighting some of the worst forms of violence in Africa, Latin America, South Asia and Southeast Asia. We partner with local authorities to: RESCUE VICTIMS BRING CRIMINALS RESTORE STRENGTHEN OF VIOLENCE TO JUSTICE SURVIVORS JUSTICE SYSTEMS We help local We work relentlessly We provide authorities find in local courts to trauma therapy We identify gaps individuals and ensure traffickers, and counseling to in the systems that families suffering slave owners, rapists survivors of violence protect the poor, and from violence and and other criminals and give survivors then work with police oppression and bring are restrained from education, training and courts to address them to safety. hurting others. and tools to thrive. these challenges. OUR PROGRESS THIS YEAR 2,038 4,374 177 15,000+ Victims of Survivors and Perpetrators of Justice system oppression their family violent crimes officials and rescued by IJM members restrained community and IJM-trained receiving members trained partners aftercare Numbers reflect January—May 2015. 2015 MID-YEAR REPORT 3 IMPACT Our Global ijm Canada Impact ijm headquarters Today, we are helping to protect more than 21 million people from violence in nearly 20 communities throughout the developing world. guatemala city, IJM Headquarters is located in guatemala Washington, DC, and we have part- ner offices in Australia, Canada, UK, the Netherlands and Germany. santo domingo, dominican republic FIELD OFFICE CASEWORK FORCED LABOR SLAVERY SEX TRAFFICKING SEXUAL VIOLENCE casework alliance guayaquil, ecuador PROPERTY GRABBING POLICE ABUSE OF POWER casework alliance CITIZENSHIP RIGHTS ABUSE huánuco, peru la paz, bolivia 4 INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE MISSION ijm uk ijm netherlands kolkata, INDIA chiAng mai, thailand ijm germany chennai, INDIA phnom penh, cambodia Kampala, UGANDA delhi, INDIA manila, the philippines GULU, UGANDA BANGALORE, INDIA pampanga, the philippines Kigali, rwanda MUMBAI, INDIA cebu, the philippines ACCRA, GHANA nairobi, kenya ijm AUSTRALIA 2015 MID-YEAR REPORT 5 UPDATES 2015 Updates This year, International Justice Mission has made huge strides in protecting the poor from violence. JANUARY 2015 SURVIVORS ARE THRIVING With an innovative new global measurement, we found that 87% of survivors are continuing to thrive in freedom one year after exiting our aftercare programs. COLLINS DECLARED INNOCENT nairobi, kenya—Collins, a young father wrongfully imprisoned for nearly two years, was finally declared innocent. Collins (left) received letters from IJM supporters while awaiting his trial. ADVOCATING FOR JUSTICE AT THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM davos, switzerland—IJM President and CEO Gary Haugen met with world leaders to advocate for programs that protect the poor from violence. BRITISH HIGH COMMISSION COMMENDS IJM nairobi, kenya—IJM was honored by the With a generous grant from the British High Commission for outstanding sup- Walmart Foundation, IJM will be able port in a case against a British charity director to assess the reality of slavery in the who sexually abused street children in Kenya. Gulf of Thailand. 6 INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE MISSION UPDATES WALMART GRANT TARGETS FISHING SUPPLY CHAINS IN THAILAND Off the coast of Thailand, large numbers of men are enslaved on fishing boats for grueling work. Forced to work up to 20-hour days, those who have escaped report beatings, torture and execution-style killings. With a generous grant from the Walmart Foundation, IJM will assess the reality of slavery in the Gulf of Thailand this year, and how the public justice system is currently responding to combat the crime. The grant is a major step by a multinational corporation to clear retail supply chains of slavery. 2015 MID-YEAR REPORT 7 UPDATES FEBRUARY 2015 HUGE RESCUE OPERATION IN SOUTHERN INDIA chennai, india—In one of our largest rescue government’s stance on slavery. operations ever supported, 333 children, women “It was heartening to see the confidence and men were brought out of a brick and expertise with which the district factory where they had been held as administration carried out the slaves and forced to work unending rescue,” said Director of Casework % hours. Survivors told stories of ha- 65 Alice Suganya. “This would have rassment, neglect and beatings. been unimaginable ten years ago! The game-changing operation The fact that it can happen now in was carried out by the Tamil Nadu Percentage of annual one district gives me hope it will state government with support from slavery rescue goal in India soon happen in other districts, the IJM, marking a dramatic shift in the already met for 2015 state and the country.” IJM assisted government officials in organizing interviews with the survivors and securing release certificates. 8 INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE MISSION UPDATES END MODERN SLAVERY INITIATIVE ACT A SAFER FUTURE OF 2015 INTRODUCED IN CONGRESS kolkata, india—One of the most brutal brothel owners IJM has ever encountered re- washington, dc—As Gary Haugen testified before ceived a landmark second trafficking convic- the U.S. Committee on Foreign Relations, slavery thrives tion. In a city where trafficking criminals once where there is impunity for criminals. But this can be operated with near-total impunity, police are changed. leading more anti-trafficking rescue opera- “A relatively small number of arrests, prosecutions tions than ever before. This year, police initi- and convictions have a disproportionate impact on ated more than 75% of IJM’s rescue operations criminals who buy, sell and exploit children,” he said. in January and February alone. Haugen urged Congress to bring new resources to the fight against slavery. Using IJM’s experience in An IJM social the field, Haugen illustrated the immense impact of worker comforts survivors rescued transforming justice systems to protect all and bringing from this brothel proven anti-slavery models to scale. owner’s control Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee introduced the in 2009. End Modern Slavery Initiative Act (S. 553) to formulate a global response to the problem of modern-day slavery and exponentially strengthen the fight to end it. 2015 MID-YEAR REPORT 9 UPDATES MARCH 2015 IJM Ghana helped anti-trafficking police rescue ten boys from slavery on fishing boats in March 2015. BOYS RESCUED IN FIRST IJM RESCUE IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC GHANA OPERATION santo domingo, dominican republic— IJM assisted local officials to arrest seven lake volta, ghana—In 2013, IJM investigators alleged traffickers and rescue 18 victims of in Ghana discovered shocking stories: boys who sex trafficking, 14 of whom were children. should be in kindergarten working 12-hour days The operation—one of our first in the coun- in dangerous conditions, seven days a week, on try—was covered by The New York Times. Lake Volta. This March, IJM and local authorities mobi- IJM TRAINS GUATEMALAN OFFICERS lized our first rescue operation on the lake. guatemala city, guatemala—When The rescue team set out on the water at 4:00 Guatemala’s police force first formed its Sex a.m. and immediately encountered challenges Crimes Unit, officers received little special- that could jeopardize the operation. It looked like ized training on sex crimes. Now, a group there would be no rescue that day. But then an IJM of officers deploying to the unit just com- investigator’s voice crackled over the radio to the pleted a training course developed by IJM, command boat: One boy had been found. Rescuers together with the Guatemalan government set out even earlier the next morning and rescued and partner organizations, to equip them nine other young boys—some as young as five. with the unique skills they need to combat These boys are now healing in an aftercare home. sexual violence against children. 10 INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE MISSION UPDATES GARY DELIVERS TED TALK ON VIOLENCE AND POVERTY vancouver, canada—At this year’s TED Conference, Gary Haugen used powerful stories of survivors to illustrate a profound challenge: how everyday violence perpetuates poverty in the developing world. “Any con- versation about global poverty that doesn’t include the problem of violence must be deemed not serious,” he told the TED crowd. Gary challenged the TED audience that, un- til we address the violence that plagues the poor, tra- ditional poverty alleviation 1 MILLION + programs won’t work. Pub- The number of views lic justice systems across the Gary’s TED Talk developing world too often received to date. leave the poor unprotected, and the violence they suffer as a result keeps them from 9 beating poverty. The number of “It doesn’t have to be languages Gary’s talk is this way,” said Haugen. “Bro- translated into. ken law enforcement can be fixed. Violence can be stopped...Almost all justice 1.4 BILLION systems start out broken Potential reach of and corrupt, but they can be Watch Gary’s the TED Talk. TED Talk now at transformed by fierce effort IJM.org/TED and commitment.” 2015 MID-YEAR REPORT 11 UPDATES APRIL 2015 BECAUSE PRAYER MATTERS CHURCH LEADERS ADVOCATE TO More than 1,400 faithful supporters joined IJM leaders END SLAVERY from around the world in Washington, DC at our largest More than 180 church leaders joined IJM in Global Prayer Gathering yet. asking their representatives in Congress to sup- port the End Modern Slavery Initiative Act. TAKING A STAND FOR FREEDOM At nearly 150 events across 44 states and 13 countries, MONUMENTAL VICTORY IN UGANDA supporters stood for 24 hours to fight against slavery. kampala, uganda—A Ugandan court pro- tected an elderly widow and sentenced the CHILD SEX WORK PLUMMETS IN CAMBODIA man who tried to steal her land to six years in phnom penh, cambodia—After more than a decade prison—the longest sentence of any property of IJM’s partnership with the government, the future grabbing case we’ve worked on in Uganda.