One in five humans under the age of 18 are forced into slavery.
With high school students and college campuses squarely in this age group, students are the frontrunners in the fight for freedom.
The End IT Movement launched in 2013 with a mission to raise awareness for human slavery throughout college campuses, neighborhoods, gyms, restaurants, social media and anywhere else possible. This coalition is made up of 16 companies.
On February 23, 2017, Freedom Fighters shined a light on slavery by drawing a red X on their hands and then sharing a photo on social media using the hash tag, #ENDITMOVEMENT.
A student with a red X on their hand for the End It movement.
A giant ‘X’ on a hand represents awareness and a need for action—just by a simple drawing, the word can spread and modern-day abolitionists together can slave those trapped.
The End It Movement focuses on four areas to help support the coalition: awareness, prevention, rescue and restoration.
The Coalition Partners, which specialize and focus on different steps to help victims attain freedom tout these simple four steps. “On the ground, in the streets, manning hotlines, prosecuting traffickers and passing laws,” the Coalition partners provide the services to overcome this worldwide plague.
Ohio Wesleyan students can also take action by joining End IT as a campus representative or even as a program coordinator. Other college campuses have held dance-a-thons to raise money for the coalition, posted flyers about the national red X day in February of 2017 in dorms or organizing a 5k or 10k run to raise money for coalition partners.
The End It Movement believes it’s not about sharing the numbers that is most important, but the number of stories told about trafficking that can help those trapped in modern slavery. While slavery is illegal in every country, and has been for decades now, it is still happening on a global scale.