On Anti-Slavery Day, we speak to Beulah London founders Natasha Rufus-Isaacs and Lavinia Brennan about why this campaign is as important as ever, and how you can get involved.
Today marks Anti-Slavery Day – a day to raise awareness of human trafficking and modern slavery, and encourage government, businesses and individuals to do what they can to address the problem. More than 40 million people around the world are living in slavery – although some believe that estimate to be conservative – which is more than at any other point in history. It’s a multibillion-dollar industry, with human trafficking generating $150 billion annually, and children accounting for one in four victims of trafficking. Ending slavery is a huge, complex, and global challenge, and one that Beulah London founders Natasha Rufus-Isaacs and Lavinia Brennan are determined to contribute towards eradicating.
In 2010, Natasha and Lavinia were working in the slums of Delhi, in an aftercare home for women who had been trafficked into the sex trade. There they witnessed the power of employment to transform lives. On their return from India they founded Beulah London – a luxury lifestyle brand with a mission of having a long term, positive impact on victims of human trafficking by providing an alternative, sustainable livelihood. In 2013 they also founded The Beulah Trust to put their humanitarian mission into action, with a clear goal of supporting projects and initiatives that create sustainable livelihoods for victims of trafficking. The Trust aims to give grants that pay for skill courses giving women who have been victims of sex trafficking and abuse the chance to find work, generate an income, and live a self-sufficient life, free from abuse.
To mark Anti-Slavery Day 2019, Beulah has launched a ‘For Freedom’ T-shirt to support the anti trafficking charity Justice and Care. Here they tell us more about the campaign, their inspiration, and their plans for the future: