The Exodus Road

Kids should never be sold. We shouldn’t have to say that. But today, as many as 12.5 million kids are being bought, sold, and exploited. As an anti-trafficking organization on the front lines of the fight against human trafficking, The Exodus Road has witnessed the horrors being faced by children around the world. So, we’re inviting you to join us and help make a difference.? Because while it’s tempting to look away or get lost in the busyness of everyday life, there are children in every country waiting for freedom.? Stand with us this November in declaring that kids should never be sold! Throughout this month, we’ll be sharing stories and extending invitations for you to step forward and choose to see and combat the reality of this issue firsthand.? #KidsShouldNeverBeSold

Our team in India received a tip from law enforcement: “we have reason to believe that women are being held and trafficked in a rural hotel.” When we investigated the site, we found out that police suspicions were true: we found 3 young women from Bangladesh and one girl who was still just a teenager.? There is a common misconception that once a potential survivor is identified, they can be removed immediately. In reality, processes exist to make sure that the case is pursued in a way that will hold up in a court of law. This is the only way to shift the criminal industry of trafficking systemically. Unfortunately, those processes take time. But our team is patient. They have been part of enough cases to know that freedom is worth the wait. They kept an eye on the hotel until law enforcement officials had all the pieces in place to act. Their patience paid off when officers stormed the hotel, freeing the three women and teenage girl. They arrested the man who had been holding them captive. Because he was trafficking a child, the perpetrator is in jail without the option of bail. Waiting for justice can be difficult to endure. Our India investigators are no strangers to waiting out discomfort to make sure that kids like this girl from Bangladesh are never sold again. Now is your chance to support them, ensuring that they can persist in disrupting the darkness!

Kids should never be sold. The Exodus Road exists in part because today, in 2024, 12.5 million children are being bought, sold, abused, and exploited.? These are precious kids being subjected to forced sexual exploitation, forced labor, or forced marriage. We are not okay with that – and we know you aren't either. Take a stand with us this #GivingTuesday and make it known that kids should NEVER be sold. Will you join us? Learn how you can help us bring freedom to children like Camila now:

Throughout the month of November, select Colorado Pure Barre studios are partnering with The Exodus Road to combat human trafficking in Colorado! Eight studio locations across the state have united to raise funds and awareness to empower our anti-trafficking work in prevention, intervention, and aftercare for human trafficking survivors. This upcoming weekend, you have an exciting opportunity to get involved in fighting human trafficking here in your local community. On December 2-3, Pure Barre locations across the front range are inviting you to join them in their 'Plank for Freedom' Donation Match Challenge. Not only is it a great way to test your fitness, but you'll also be standing in solidarity with vulnerable women, children, and men who are victims of human trafficking in our world. In honor of Giving Tuesday, participants are challenged to set personal plank goal times while contributing to support The Exodus Road's efforts. Learn more about the month-long collaboration and how you can participate in the Plank For Freedom challenge by visiting:

Every 10 minutes, a woman is killed. Almost 1 in 3 women globally are estimated to have experienced physical or sexual violence. And, female victims of trafficking are subjected to extreme violence at a rate 3X higher than males. Across the world, the epidemic of gender-based violence continues to be a persistent and devastating reality for women and girls. These crimes can manifest in several different ways, including: intimate partner violence, sexual violence and harassment, human trafficking, and child marriage. Violence against women remains a widely underreported crime due to the stigma, impunity, and culture of shame that surrounds it. In fact, less than 40% of women who experience violence seek help. This is why days like International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women are so crucial; through organizing, educating, and challenging harmful societal norms and beliefs, we can make progress towards a world in which the human rights of all women and girls are upheld. "Violence against women does not only concern women. It concerns everyone, and the work to combat it must be done by all." - The United Nations. Creating a world free of gender-based violence starts with all of us. Share this post to spread awareness and stand with survivors everywhere. *Sources: United Nations, UN Women

"We know that kids are being trafficked in this neighborhood, but we can’t reach them without suspicion. Will you help us gather evidence of the exploitation?" When we received that request from law enforcement in Latin America, we went to work. We discovered a sophisticated network of criminals trafficking kids ranging from 1-16 years old. The smallest children were forced to beg. Many of the middle school-aged kids were trafficked for labor, peddling products and drugs on the streets of an urban Latin American neighborhood. The teenagers were trafficked for s*x, used and abused by both the crime bosses and paying clients. We knew these kids couldn’t stay there a moment longer. Hours of careful investigation gave law enforcement all the information they’d hoped for. They found the frightened kids huddled in small groups on street corners and in abandoned structures. Some of the kids were far from their home countries. Fortunately, trusted aftercare partners have committed to the long-term process of healing and repatriation for these kids who have suffered myriad kinds of abuse. We won’t stop until kids like these survivors are never sold:

11 men and 4 teenage boys had come from Paraguay to Brazil in search of things every human being deserves: a safe place to live. Steady work. Nourishing food. The means to provide for their families.? Instead, the laborers found themselves isolated on a remote cassava farm. They were crammed into shacks that barely qualified as shelter. Their hopes disappeared under the crushing weight of long work days in the sun, days for which they were barely compensated. The employers who had lured them onto the property doled out insufficient food, leaving the men and boys exhausted. They didn’t even have access to proper protective gear as they worked with the farm equipment. Local law enforcement had been trained by The Exodus Road’s TraffickWatch Academy Brazil and equipped with Cellebrite?technology. They were ready to act. When police arrived on the farm, they found the men working in degrading conditions. They quickly removed them, identifying that two men were responsible for trafficking these workers. Both men were brought into custody, where the government of Brazil will try them for “the crime of subjecting individuals to conditions analogous to slavery, subjecting them to forced labor or exhausting work hours, subjecting them to degrading working conditions, restricting, by any means, their movement due to debts contracted with the employer, in addition to the penalty corresponding to violence.” These men and boys have had their rights restored, thanks to partnership between The Exodus Road’s community, Cellebrite, and law enforcement partners in Brazil. Thank you for standing alongside us!

When investigators met a trafficker at the designated point in front of a department store in Thailand, he brought a 13-year-old boy to sell to them. Immediately, law enforcement stationed nearby intervened to apprehend the trafficker while The Exodus Road’s social worker stepped in to reassure the boy. Then the trafficker’s phone started ringing. Investigators looked at the screen and recognized the name immediately: it was another known criminal in the same network. Police had the trafficker answer the call on speaker and convince his boss to meet up, and because of this, they were able to arrest the second trafficker as well. Meanwhile, The Exodus Road’s social worker continued comforting the 13-year-old child. He came from a home where he suffered devastating abuse – trauma compounded by two full years of being trafficked to older men. Since The Exodus Road found him, we have provided continuous care in his recovery by providing food assistance for him, giving trauma-informed counseling, and accompanying him to court appearances. Kids should never be sold. And thanks to this community, this teenage boy won’t be sold again. Read the original story:

Sometimes, freedom begins with pajamas. One boy and five girls, all of them just young children, were being abused and exploited by a boyfriend and girlfriend in a house in the Philippines. The perpetrators were streaming child s*xual abuse to U.S. buyers, who paid a fee to watch online. When the house was raided, multiple law enforcement agencies were on site to collect digital evidence and ensure that the traff*ckers would be imprisoned and face charges. Our team focused on the survivors, brave and precious kids in need of comfort. We provided them soft pajamas with playful prints — a gentle nod to restoring their childhood. We made sure that they were safely transferred to government aftercare services. Your support allows our team in the Philippines to keep combating traff*cking in all its forms, including the online exploitation of children — because kids should NEVER be sold. https://xdsrd.com/49DTLtV #KidsShouldNeverBeSold

Kids should never be sold. But for too many, vulnerability and desperation lead them into unimaginable situations. Recently, in Latin America, our team witnessed this harsh reality. During routine surveillance, investigators spotted two teenage girls sitting with much older men in a restaurant. The girls’ clothing was overly suggestive for their age. They appeared uneasy and uncomfortable, despite the alcoholic drinks they were being encouraged to consume to calm them down. The men were inappropriately physical with them, even as the girls froze in fear. Our advocates decided to gather more information. They learned that these two teenagers had been desperate for food. Seeing an opportunity, a taxi driver picked them up and promised them money — they just had to offer him s*x first. The driver didn’t stop at abusing these girls himself. He took them and introduced them to his criminal operation, where drivers delivered girls to clients. The girls felt trapped and stranded. They were hungry and alone, and they had nowhere to go. When they were dropped off to meet these older men, they felt they couldn’t refuse. Once our investigators’ suspicions were confirmed, our team could act. They removed the girls from the restaurant, quickly taking them to safety. They provided food, appropriate clothing, and shelter— offering them these essentials of life with no expectation of anything in return. Authorities got involved, strongly affirming to these teenagers that they have a right to safety, consent, and autonomy. This case illustrates the value of constant vigilance, demonstrating why it matters to learn the warning signs of traff*cking. Thank you for empowering our teams to act decisively in moments like these!? Read the story: