Trafficked: A Woman’s Courageous Escape and the Big Business of Modern Slavery | Blessing Okeidon

Living in a small village in Nigeria, Blessing Okeidon was promised a job in Europe as a computer engineer— only to fall into the hands of human traffickers in Italy.

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), an estimated 40.3 million people worldwide were trafficked in 2016. This crime earns profits of roughly $150 billion a year for traffickers as a whole, with $99 billion coming from commercial sexual exploitation. While the majority of sexual trafficking happens in the Asia Pacific region, cases are present in every region of the world, with females constituting 99% of its victims. 

In this episode, we follow Blessing’s journey — from an aspiring doctor to a woman forced into prostitution currently fighting for other victims and survivors. On the show, we talk about the challenges of combatting modern slavery, the solutions needed to address its root causes, and the support needed to advocate for victims.

Featuring policy and advocacy insights from experts:  Ilias Chatzis, Chief at the Human Trafficking and Migrant Section at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and Katharine Bryant, Lead of European Engagement at the Walk Free Foundation and co-author of the Global Slavery Index.

The Elders Special Segment Guest: Graça Machel, International Advocate for Women’s and Children’s Rights, and Founding Member of The Elders

Host: Hazami Barmada, Founder and CEO, Humanity Lab Foundation.

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FOR ADDITIONAL LEARNING ON THIS TOPIC, view our free educational toolkit and "policy deep-dive" document. We invite you to use this episode/toolkit for continued learning, advocacy and activism.

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Speaker Biographies:

BLESSING OKOEDION is a human trafficking survivor and a Cultural Mediator at Casa Ruth

Blessing Okoedion is an inspirational voice in the fight against modern slavery. Through her work as a cultural mediator in combination with her lived experiences, she raises and spreads awareness about human trafficking. Blessing was born in Ibore, Nigeria. 

ILIAS CHATZIS is Chief of the Human Trafficking and Migrant Section at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 

Mr. Ilias Chatzis joined the UN in 2006 working on terrorism prevention and anti-organized crime. Since 2012, he has been leading UNODC's Section against human tracking and migrant smuggling. Prior to joining the United Nations, Mr Chatzis served as Director of the Secretariat Against Organized Crime of the Stability Pact for Southeast Europe located in Bucharest, Romania and as Head of the Department for Rule of Law and Human Rights in the OSCE Mission to Serbia and Montenegro. Between 1998 - 2004, Mr Chatzis was head of legal section in the Office of the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina and senior legal advisor to the International Supervisor of the special administrative District of Brcko. A national of Greece, Mr Chatzis is a qualified lawyer and has practiced criminal law in his country. Mr Chatzis holds a master’s degree in War Studies from the University of London and a law degree from the University of Athens, Greece. He is fluent in English and French. Twitter: @ilias_chatzis, @UNODC_HTMSS, @UNODC

KATHARINE BRYANT is the Lead of European Engagement at the Walk Free Foundation

Katharine Bryant is Lead of European lobal Slavery Index (GSI). Katharine oversees Walk Free’s Engagement at Walk Free and co-author of the Research program focused on, ‘what works?’ to combat modern slavery, including the government response component of the GSI and the promising practices database. She has worked in counter trafficking and anti-slavery programming and research for the past 10 years. Twitter: @katharinebryant, @WalkFree

GRACA MACHEL is an international advocate for women’s and children’s rights, and is Deputy Chair of The Elders, an independent group of global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela in 2007, who work together for peace, justice and human rights

Graça Machel co-founded The Elders with her husband, Nelson Mandela in 2007. She is a renowned international advocate for women’s and children’s rights. As Education Minister in Mozambique’s post-war government, she oversaw an increase in primary school enrolment from 40% of children in 1975 to over 90% of boys and 75% of girls by 1989. In 1994, she was appointed by the UN Secretary-General to assess the impact of armed conflict on children. Her landmark report established a new and innovative agenda for the comprehensive protection of children caught up in war. Graça Machel is Founder and President of the Foundation for Community Development (FDC) and Founder of the Graça Machel Trust.

HAZAMI BARMADA is the Founder & CEO of Humanity Lab Foundation and co-Executive Producer & Host

Finding Humanity Podcast. Hazami is a social entrepreneur, thought leader, and public affairs and social impact expert recognized by Forbes as an “inspirational agent of change.” She has consulted for many leading global brands including the United Nations, United Nations Foundation, Aspen Institute, and the Royal Court of the Sultanate of Oman. Among her posts at the United Nations, she served as the Coordinator for the United Nations Secretary General's World Humanitarian Summit, an Advisor to the first-ever United Nations Secretary-General's Youth Envoy, as a member of the United Nations SDG Strategy Hub for the launch of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Hazami has a Masters from Harvard University where she was an Edward S. Mason Fellow in Public Policy and Management. She studied social and public policy at Georgetown University and has a BA in Anthropology and Sociology. Twitter: @hazamibarmada

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