Fifty million people are trapped in modern slavery - over half of the come from Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
Fifty million people are trapped in modern slavery - over half of the come from Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
Lift International, a Kiwi-founded organisation combatting human trafficking in Thailand, will host a series of talks in New Zealand - starting in Hamilton on Thursday.
The organisation’s country director Tipnaree Setphisut will be speaking about modern slavery trends, powerful case stories, and her journey to leading one of the largest anti-human trafficking organisations in Thailand.
Currently, over 50 million people are trapped in modern slavery. Over half of those are from Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
Organisations like Lift, a partner of Tearfund New Zealand, are working to change those statistics.
Since 2011, Lift has been operating in Thailand to strengthen and equip local law enforcement to identify, investigate and prosecute cases of human trafficking and sexual exploitation.
Setphisut said ordering sexual services from trafficked women and children was “as easy as ordering Uber Eats”.
She said the biggest human trafficking issue that Thailand faced, was a rise in online grooming and sexual exploitation. Setphisut said these types of cases made up for 7 per cent of the organisation’s work pre-Covid, but now, that figure has risen to 37 per cent.
Aid and development organisations Tearfund and Hagar have invited Setphisut to New Zealand to shed more light on these evolving issues and the work that Lift is doing to put a stop to them.
“I’m really excited to be here and to share about Lift’s work,” said Setphisut.
“I hope the people I meet and talk with will be inspired and will learn more about human trafficking issues and how they can be a part of combatting them.”
LIFT International country director Tipnaree Setphisut.
The first event in the national tour will be held in Hamilton on Thursday, followed by Tauranga on Saturday and Takapuna on Tuesday.
Setphisut is no stranger to the dangers of human trafficking: She grew up in a poor hill tribe village near the border of Myanmar, didn’t have enough food and worked for the equivalent of $2 a day.
All this could have made her vulnerable to being trafficked.
The first time she was exposed to this issue was at the age of 14 when she was sponsored to receive an education by an organisation that supported girls who didn’t get a chance to go to school.
This organisation also served as a haven for girls and women who had been trafficked.
“Poverty and a lack of education means people are not always aware that circumstances in their life can lead them to human trafficking,” said Setphisut.
During her eight years there, Setphisut continued to learn about the issue and developed a passion for fighting human trafficking and bringing perpetrators to justice.
People who are interested in attending one of the talks can find out more here.
