Last month, a new app called “The STOP App” launched in central London. The STOP App is set to revolutionize how people report human trafficking. The app was launched by the charity STOP THE TRAFFIK and it is the first of its kind in combining community empowerment, big data management and anti-trafficking expertise to disrupt, combat and prevent this global issue.
Human trafficking is one of the fastest growing international crimes, one of the largest sources of income for organized crime and the most abhorrent abuse of human rights. Recent stats from the International Labour Organisation estimate profits from human trafficking to be $150 billion annually.
One of the greatest obstacles in disrupting this global crime is the lack of intelligence on the inner workings, the backstories, the networks and all the factors that build the real time picture of what is taking place. To help stem the tide, there is a strong need for an accurate and analyzed global perspective, which can only happen with the coordinated gathering and sharing of data.
The groundbreaking STOP App is available for download on smartphones all around the world and will allow individuals in communities to report these backstories. By detailing what they have seen, heard or know about human trafficking, everyday people will be empowered to take action to prevent human trafficking from happening in their own communities.
STOP THE TRAFFIK CEO Ruth Dearnley said: “With the need to elevate the international economic conversation around 21st century slavery, STOP THE TRAFFIK can lead the empowerment of people using the extraordinary potential found through the tools of technology that can be held in any person’s hand. We can’t stop what we can’t see. We must shine a light on this crime through the gathering and sharing of information so often held at street level, to bring disruption to this global crime and create communities and individuals who are resilient to the traffickers.”
The London-based charity has secured a partnership with IBM to build the capacity to gather community data, undertake high-level analysis to identify trends and hotspots, and create strategic and bespoke prevention tools for communities in order to empower those vulnerable to being trafficked to say “STOP.”
The Centre for Intelligence-Led Prevention will coordinate the many aspects of this work, ensuring that communities are served, data is analyzed and prevention is targeted.
STOP THE TRAFFIK aims for The STOP App and the work of the Centre for Intelligence-Led Prevention to prevent criminal networks from deepening their roots, to change legislation concerning supply chains, resource business and finance sectors to pioneer change and build communities resistant to trafficking.
For more information, visit www.stopthetraffik.org.
About STOP THE TRAFFIK
STOP THE TRAFFIK is a global movement, which pioneers the prevention of human trafficking. They believe that by inspiring and equipping people to take action in their communities, alongside the tools of technology that are now available to us, we have the opportunity to disrupt the trafficking supply chains around the world.
STOP THE TRAFFIK has provided training and education to 35,000 individuals in the U.K. and has trained over 1,040 community-based professionals to spot the signs of modern slavery. They also successfully campaigned for the inclusion of the supply chain amendment of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
For more information, contact Matthew Geer at matthew.geer@oasisuk.org or call 07855 247 466.
