Hagar News | Hagar USA

LIFT and Hagar Unite in the Fight Against Slavery

LIFT International joins Hagar International to free more victims of trafficking, slavery and exploitation. Human trafficking and modern-day slavery continue to threaten vulnerable people every day. Over the past five years, exploitation and abuse have not decreased but grown significantly so that today, 50 million people – the population of California and Georgia combined – are victims of human trafficking and forced labor around the world. With these dire numbers in mind,

Cambodian Leaders Trained to Prevent Trafficking

Imagine if we could stop human trafficking before it starts. That’s the goal of Hagar’s prevention programs. Recently in Cambodia, our frontline team trained 51 local leaders to recognize and prevent human trafficking. The training sessions drew a diverse crowd including community council members and police officers. “I never knew the meaning of modern slavery and how to help our community members reduce their vulnerability to human trafficking and slavery and exploitation,” said

Supporter Spotlight – Tim Lee

Hagar’s work is only possible because of the dedication and compassion of our donors. Each month we profile a supporter who, through their generosity, is helping to bring healing and hope to survivors around the world. Tim Lee, Monthly Donor 1. Tell us a little about yourself – work, family, where you’re from, what you do in your spare time? Hello! My name is Tim and I’m from Southern California. I currently work

Longdy Advocates for Human Trafficking Survivors at UN Assembly

Longdy Chhap, former human trafficking survivor, turned Hagar Cambodia Counsellor advocates for freedom at the United Nations General Assembly. 22 November 2021, New York – a former survivor of human trafficking and now Hagar Cambodia counselor and trainer, Longdy Chhap will be appearing as a panelist at the United Nations General Assembly for the 2021 Appraisal of the UN Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons. The event will be officially broadcast on UN

UNTIF Project, Vietnam

To raise awareness about child sexual abuse and knowledge/skills about what to do in response, the Hagar Vietnam team coordinated with the Women’s Union and Minh – Luong Secondary School in the Nghe An Province to run a contest with local secondary school students from mid-November to early December. Students at the secondary school were asked to use their creativity to create and present something that demonstrated how they could protect themselves

Trafficking in Persons Report 2019

This year’s report “serves as a call to action for governments around the world to embrace the full meaning of the Palermo Protocol and implement their domestic laws in a manner that protects all victims and punishes all traffickers.” The Palermo Protocol defines human trafficking by its three elements—a trafficker’s action taken through the means of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. Understanding it as such leaves little room for interpretation

USA vs. Erik Peeters

Justice after seven years. In February 2009, the Cambodian authorities arrested Erik Leonardus Peeters, a 48-year-old American citizen, on suspicion of sexual contact with children. Peeters had arrived in Cambodia in 2008 and within two months had started to look for young boys. He particularly targeted children who were destitute or disabled, paying them $5 to $10 for sex. After being expelled from Cambodia, Peeters was charged in the United States under

Trafficking in Persons Report 2017

Last year, as the TIP report for 2017 was released, we echoed the sentiments of former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, “The scale of human trafficking is atrocious. The silence that conceals this crime is disgraceful. We have to speak out because the victims are living in fear for their lives. We have to raise our voices for them. That means confronting the social and economic conditions that abet this crime. It