The first international Survivor Alliance for modern slavery survivors to be launched
A team of survivors are launching the Survivor Alliance, an international network of modern slavery survivors on 23rd April. Partnering with the Rights Lab at the University of Nottingham, the mission of the Alliance is to unite and empower survivors of slavery and human trafficking around the world.
The founder and director of the NGO, Minh Dang, is studying for her PhD at the University of Nottingham and shares with us more about the Survivor Alliance.
Where did the idea of the Survivor Alliance come from?
The initial idea for our organization began in the U.S. in 2013, when a group of survivor leaders saw a lack of investment in long-term and meaningful engagement with survivor leaders. There was a growing interest from the anti-trafficking movement in the inclusion of survivor voices, but a lack of infrastructure to support survivors who were sharing their expertise and personal stories. A handful of supportive NGOs developed training programs and survivor networking opportunities, but they could not meet all the needs of a growing and diverse survivor community. Also, organisations were calling on the same survivor voices and there was a need to grow new leaders. The idea for the Survivor Alliance grew out of survivor leaders’ desire to fill this gap.
What is the vision for the NGO?
Our vision is a world where survivors of human trafficking and slavery are thriving members of society.
Why is working with survivors important?
We want to empower survivors to develop solutions for their own communities, and to collaborate with other survivor communities around the world. We believe that connecting survivor leaders and building their capacity will enhance their daily lives, improve the anti-slavery movement, and contribute best-practices for community-based social change. Though we support survivor leaders in the anti-slavery field, we will support our members to pursue goals in other industries as well.
Why is it important to launch Survivor Alliance initiatives in the UK?
The U.K. has a tradition of anti-slavery activism and there are growing cross-sector partnerships to provide support for survivors. This means that more and more survivors will live in the U.K. We think that this is a critical time for survivor voices to be involved in program and policy development. Based on our success in the US, we are keen to develop the UK chapter of the Survivor Alliance in collaboration with survivors based in the UK to ensure their needs as survivor leaders are met.
How can organisations tackling modern slavery can be involved?
We are keen to partner with organisations tackling modern slavery in different countries. The organisations can help us different ways including:
- Reaching out to survivors through our leaflets, posters, newsletters, social media, emails, etc.
- Referring survivors to join the membership
- Displaying and sharing our work within their networks
- Joint bidding and co-hosting events
- Representing us in their region
How can other members of public be involved?
Members of public can help if different ways including:
- Referring survivors of modern slavery to join the Survivor Alliance membership
- Reaching out to survivors through our leaflets, posters, newsletters, social media etc
- Volunteers with us
- Fundraise for us
How can you be contacted?
For more information, please visit our website on www.survivoralliance.org.
For questions about Survivor Alliance membership, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
For other enquiries, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
