Combatting the root causes of human trafficking and modern slavery at every intersectionality

Theory of Change

Half of the world population (youth) is not engaged in the anti-human trafficking conversations and work!

The topic and its access remains exclusive to the common citizen!

People don’t even hear about the issue, and if they did, they don’t relate to it!

Governments aren’t pressured by their citizens to pass laws and adhere to international standards for real change!

There is a huge global divide among actors when addressing the issues of HT and MS. The divide is very apparent when it comes to the sides of the equation with those who support sex work and others who are abolitionists.

Sunray Model

Human trafficking (HT) and modern slavery (MS) do not happen in a vacuum and combating these issues will require an intersectional approach towards justice and adaptive strategies for varying contexts and realities. YASM’s Sunray model will shed light on the root causes and ever-shifting multi-faceted points of connection.

One way we will classify these root causes under the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) umbrella with specific attention to regional instruments, such as the African Union 2063 Agenda. As our model needs to be adaptable and applicable in a variety of environments, we will also work beyond the umbrella of the SDGs as circumstances require.

Our model will contextualize the issues of HT and MS in Africa and give it a local face that resonates with the people. We will do this by breaking down how HT and MS contribute to the struggles and injustices faced by the African people, using the SDGs as a framework to highlight intersectional root causes.

For us to beat slavery, we need to consider both sides, those who are vulnerable to trafficking, empowering victims through prevention, while dismantling the mechanisms and systems that enable people to become traffickers and slave masters.

UN Sustainable Development Goals

While every UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) ties into our work, our primary focus is on the following: