Who we are
Our international team includes statisticians, criminologists, lawyers, and international development experts, working to create and agitate for mass systems change, to address the root causes of slavery.
We are building a robust knowledge base to inform action, driving legislative change in key countries and harnessing the power of businesses and faiths.
Through a combination of direct implementation, grassroots community engagement, and working in partnership with faiths, businesses, academics, NGOs, and governments around the world, we work to address slavery and dismantle its core drivers.
Migrant domestic workers in Lebanon are subjected to the kafala system, a private migration sponsorship system in Gulf countries which exponentially increases the risk of labour exploitation, forced labour and trafficking.
Our story
Walk Free was established over a decade ago after Founding Director, Grace Forrest spent time living and working in Nepal at a rescue home for children who had been subjected to various forms of exploitation. It was there that Grace first witnessed the extent of the extreme and continued commodification of human beings, and soon learnt that modern slavery is one of the most profitable forms of organised crime in the world, continuing to underpin our global economy.
At the end of that same year, Walk Free was established to address the root causes of modern slavery and create systems level change.
Now for over a decade, Walk Free has studied the number of people living in modern slavery around the world. Through each edition of the Global Slavery Index, our understanding of the problem has deepened, our estimates have become more precise, and our advocacy has catalysed global efforts.
“It’s one thing to know about a terrible problem and not be able to fix it; it is another to know about the problem and have the means to do something about it.”
Andrew Forrest, Co-Founder of Walk Free
How we work
We independently and unashamedly agitate for change and pioneer research that reinforces the need for change in the world.
What is modern slavery?
Modern slavery is an umbrella term which encompasses several types of exploitation, including forced labour, human trafficking and forced marriage.