January 30, 2015

Help Me Bring Hearts Should Be Free to More Places

Since slavery is a world wide problem, I would like to open the Hearts Should Be Free giveaways to to as many countries as possible. But I am simply not able to research giveaway laws in every country.

Currently giveaways on this site are only open to entrants from  the United States, Canada (except Quebec), and the United Kingdom.  Next year I will Austrailia will be included  too.  To open up these giveaway to more places, I could use help with the following...
  • Researching giveaway laws in more countries
  • Translating the giveaway posts into other languages
If you would like to help with either of these, please e-mail me at ecarian@yahoo.com.  



January 27, 2015

Slavery Today


If you've visited any of my other Hearts Should Be Free posts, you've read that though slavery is illegal in every country, there are still millions of people enslaved today.

If slavery is illegal around the world, than how does it still exist?

How does someone become a slave TODAY?

The short answer to that is usually poverty, disenfranchisement, government corruption, or a failure of the criminal justice system.  But the longer answer to that question is laid out below...




How People are Enslaved Today

Threatened with Violence
Violence or threats of violence to individuals and their families keep people working for little to no pay. This is usually an aspect of the forms of enslavement mentioned below as well.

Born a Slave
While descent based slavery is more rare than other forms of slavery today, it still exists.  Mauritania was the last country in the world to officially abolish slavery, and though they publicly insists it does not exist there, it is estimated by anti-slavery groups that at least 4% of the population is enslaved.  In this culture slavery is accepted as a part of life.  Not only has the government done next to nothing to enforce their own laws about slavery, but they have actively opposed efforts to help enslaved people in their country.  Only one arrest has been made since holding slaves became a crime in 2007, and, for their efforts, 6 of the activists who pressured the government to prosecute that crime spent the same time in jail as the man convicted of slave-holding.

Descent based slavery also exists in parts of Niger and Mali.  Some forms of bonded labor (discussed under "Indebted") are also is multi-generational, and take place in various places.


Countries Where Descent-Based Slavery Persist

Made with a map from D-maps.com.

This map does not include inherited debt-bondage.  Though
the whole country is highlighted, only areas of the country contain
descent based slavery.





Kidnapped
The first article I ever read about modern slavery was about children being kidnapped and enslaved.  This was primarily done for profit--profit through their slave labor or by getting ransom from the children's families.  Recently, kidnapping and enslavement has become a tool of terrorists, such as ISIS and Boco Haran.


Sold by Their Parents
Tragically, sometimes parents will knowingly sell their children to others to use for labor or prostitution.  In many places around the world this is the result of extreme poverty--a horrid choice between selling off your children or watching them starve.  But even in the developed world, in places where such extreme conditions are not a a factor, this happens.  It is not uncommon for a young women to enter prostitution by being "turned out" by a family member, and even more disturbing are the cases of children being rented out by their parents to pedophiles.


Tricked
A common tactic among slave traffickers is to promise a person a job in another country--and once the person is in that country, take their passports and other immigration documents, cut off their communication with family, and tell them they will be arrested or deported if they stop working.  Not knowing the language or being familiar with the country's laws, they feel trapped in their situation.  This is one of the most common ways laborers are enslaved in the US.  This is not just illegal immigrants--a recent study found that 71% of victims of labor trafficking came here legally.  But when a greencard is tied to employment, employers can withhold rightful wages and threaten deportation if workers speak up or leave.



This desperate mother traveled from her village in Nepal to Mumbai, India, hoping to find and rescue her teenage daughter who was trafficked into an Indian brothel. Nepalese girls are prized for their fair skin and are lured with promises of a "good" job and the chance to improve their lives. "I will stay in Mumbai," said the mother, "Until I find my daughter or die. I am not leaving here without her."







In impoverished areas around the world, parents have been tricked into into handing over their children to people promising to provide them with a better life (education, a home with a good family, reasonable payed work)...only to never see them again.

Deception is also used by pimps to "turn out" prostitutes right here in the US and Canada.  Pimps will often start a romantic relationship with a young woman, convince her to run away with him, and then once she is away manipulate or force her into prostitution.  Initially, a pimp may convince a women to sell herself willingly.   For example, after running away together a pimp may create a false financial crisis, and convince the woman to prostitute herself "only for a little while, so we can get by," and because she loves him, she does it.   But while pimps may not often use force to start someone in prostitution, violence and threats of violence are common ways to keep them working...and this is where it crosses the line into slavery.


Indebted
Debt bondage is the most common form of slavery around the world today.  Simply working to pay off a debt does not make someone a slave--but when the debt is structured so that it can never be payed off, this can be a form of slavery.  Debt bondage can involve the some of the deceptive practices described above...a person is loaned money and promised a job to pay it off, but then are charged room and board equal or greater to their "earnings", so that they are always working without ever paying off their debt to their employers.  In other instances the wages are kept so low and interest is at such high a rate that paying off the debt is impossible.  Debtors are usually not allowed to leave or work somewhere else.  In some area, whole generations are working off family debts--debts of parents or grandparents which they did not even accrue.


Blackmailed
Blackmail is powerful in cases where someone is enslaved doing an illegal activity, such as prostitution.  A pimp can threaten with violence, and then follow it up by telling his victim that if she tells the police, she'll be arrested.  Similarly, an employer of an illegal immigrant may threaten handing him over to be deported if he doesn't continue working.  Sadly, the threat of criminal conviction can by used by traffickers to keep victims from getting help even when they entered into the illegal activities under coercion. 

In cultures where family honor has a high premium, threat of exposing a dishonorable activity can be enough to keep someone enslaved.  In areas of the world where honor killings are common, a women is in danger of being murdered by her own family for her sexual activities (in some cases even if she was the victim of rape).  It isn't hard to imagine the power this gives traffickers over their victims.


Forcibly Recruited
In various conflicts around the world today, children have been forcibly recruited as soldiers.  In addition to the psychological ramifications of experiencing warfare, child soldiers have often been subjected to unspeakable violence, rape, and abuse.


Married
Kevin Bales, co-founder of "Free the Slaves" in his 2010 Ted Talk "How to Combat Slavery,"  emphasized that the slavery of today was "not about lousy marriages, this is not about jobs that suck. This is about people who can not walk away, people who are forced to work without pay, people who are operating 24/7 under a threat of violence and have no pay."  But some forms of "marriage" have long been recognized as a thinly veiled form of slavery.   In 1924 the Council of the League of Nations adopted a list of situations it defined as slavery, including "the acquisition of girls by purchase disguised as payment of dowry, when it is understood that this does not refer to normal marriage customs."    "Girls Not Brides" points out that a marriage, especially a child marriage, can be a form of enslavement when the bride has not given reasonable consent, is exploited and subjected to control inside the marriage (especially through violence), and if she can not leave.  One example of marriage as slavery is the Wahaya, or "Fifth Wife" practice in areas of Niger, where girls from the ‘black Tuareg’ group are sold  to wealthy men, forced into both sexual relations and labor, and never allowed to leave the house except to work in their master’s fields or take livestock to pasture.  They are never legally married,  have none of the legal rights of an "official" wife,  and are altogether treated as property (even sometimes being forced to wear a special anklet designating their slave status).




SOURCES FOR THIS ARTICLE 
ARE LISTED AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST
(UNDER GIVEAWAY INFO)


GIVEAWAY (ENDED)










Theresa Hoey of UnBound Style is providing a necklace and bracelet from her "Forever Summer Collection" for this giveaway (pictured above).  15% of all the profits at UnBound style, and and 100% of the profits from her "Hearts Should Be Free Collection," go to support Children of the Night, an organization which helps rescue youth from prostitution.   You can see items in the Hearts Should Be Free collection below...or read my review of them here.

You can also find Unbound Style on Facebook and Instagram.


HOW TO ENTER:
This giveaway is open to residents over 18 of the United States, Canada (except Quebec), and the United Kingdom.  Enter on the Rafflecopter below.  Full rules here.


a Rafflecopter giveaway


SOURCES
I've included some of my sources in text links below.  Here is a complete list.  In stead of citing my sources in the text, I am organizing them under the topics below.

Threatened with Violence - 1
Born a Slave - 2a, 3, 4, 5a
Kidnapped - 2b, 6
Sold by Their Parents - 1c, 9
Tricked - 1d, 2c, 8, 9 , 10, 11
Indebted - 2e, 5b, 12
Blackmailed - 1a, 8, 13,14,15
Recruited - 1b, 5c, 16, 17
Married - 5d, 5e, 18, 19

(1) U.S. State Department 2014 Trafficking in Persons Report
1a. Introductory Material: The Use of Forced Criminality, pg 14
1b  Introductory Material: Child Soldiers, pages 38-39
1c  Country Narratives A - C, pages 91, 97, 98, 121 (Examples of Parent Involvement)
1d  Country Narratives A - C, pg 123 (Example of Parent's Deceived by Traffickers)

(2) CNN.com
2a  Mauritania:  Slavery's Last Stronghold - by John D. Sutter
2b 'Treated like cattle': Yazidi women sold, raped, enslaved by ISIS" by Ivan Watson, CNN
2c  Slave Labor in America Today  (Labor Trafficking Report Summary)
2e  Bonded Labor Stretches from First to Third World
2f  Inside the Underground Sex Economy

(3) Mauritania activists jailed as police quash resurgent anti-slavery - The Guardian

(4) Global Slavery Index - 2014 Report, pg 18,

(5) AntiSlavery.org
5a. Descent Based Slavery
5b  Bonded Labor
5c  Child Slavery
5d  Wahaya:  Young Girls Sold Into Slavery by Antislavery.org
 (This article has been taken down, but there is another related article here.   I do not know if it contains the exact info but does talk about the Wahaya practice)
5e  Wahaya Report:  Domestic and Sexual Slavery in Niger
(This article has been taken down, but there is another related article here.   I do not know if it contains the exact info but does talk about the Wahaya practice)
(6) Missing Schoolgirls - NBC NEWS

(7) United Nations Global Report on Trafficking in Persons - 2014
7a. pg 43

(8) Routes of Recruitment into Prostitution (originally published in the Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma, 2007, 15 (2), 1-19.

(9) Southern Poverty Law Center - Holding the Deportation Card

(10) From Victims to Victimizers:  Interviews with 25 Ex-Pimps in Chicago

(11) 5 Things I Learned As a Sex Slave In Modern America

(12) End Slavery Now - Bonded Labor

(13)  Human Trafficking Exploitation of Illegal Aliens - FAIR

(14)  The Role of Honor Related Violence in Sex Trafficking - USAID

(15)  Honor Killings - PBS

(16)  Child Soldiers International:  FAQ

(17)  Child Soldiers, Slavery, and the Trafficking of Children by Susan Tiefenbrun - 2007

(18)  How To Combat Modern Slavery:  Transcript of 2010 TED Talk by Kevin Bales

(19)  When Does Child Marriage Become Slavery - Girls Not Brides

Photo of Napalese Mother Used with permission - See the wikimedia commons page.

FULL DISCLOSURE
~  Last year, after the giveaway, Theresa sent me both bracelets from the Hearts Should Be Free Collection, which I reviewed here.  Apart from that I have received no other compensation for this post or the review (which was not even something she required...the bracelets were given as a thank you, and I was happy to review them since they are supporting such a good cause).  I am not affiliated with any of the wonderful non-profits mentioned in this post.


Square Picture for Pinning and Linkies







January 26, 2015

Human Trafficking Bills in Congress

Below are the current bills in congress right now related to Human Trafficking.  I have not had time to vet these bills so I want to be clear that I'm not saying you should or shouldn't vote for them, but just wanted everyone to know what was in the works.  You can find pending state legislation here..


  • Human Trafficking Prioritization Act (HR 514): — Bipartisan — To prioritize the fight against human trafficking within the Department of State according to congressional intent in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 without increasing the size of the Federal Government. 
  • International Megan’s Law to Prevent Demand for Child Sex Trafficking(HR 515): — Bipartisan — “A serious attempt to mitigate child sex tourism by noticing countries of destination concerning the travel plans of convicted pedophiles. And to protect American children, the bill encourages the President to use bilateral agreements and assistance to establish reciprocal notification so that we will know when convicted child-sex offenders are coming here,” according a floor statement by the sponsor in 2014. 
  • Human Trafficking Prevention Act (HR 357): — Bipartisan — “Requires additional training for Department of State officials related to human trafficking,” according to the bill sponsor.
  • Trafficking Awareness Training for Health Care Act (HR 398): — Bipartisan —  “Trains healthcare workers to recognize the hallmark signs of human trafficking, thus allowing professionals to intervene on a patients’ behalf. This legislation trains healthcare workers to recognize the hallmark signs of human trafficking, thus allowing professionals to intervene. This legislation requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award a grant to a medical or nursing school within each of the 10 administrative regions to develop best practices for health care professionals. These best practices will allow for them to recognize, respond, and intervene on behalf of human trafficking victims,” according to the bill sponsor. 
  • Human Trafficking Detection Act (HR 460): — Bipartisan — To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to train Department of Homeland Security personnel how to effectively deter, detect, disrupt, and prevent human trafficking during the course of their primary roles and responsibilities.
  • Human Trafficking Prevention, Intervention, and Recovery Act (HR 350): — Bipartisan — “Launches a review that will look into federal and state trafficking prevention activities in order to identify best practices to stop human trafficking; requires an inventory of existing federal anti-trafficking efforts to make sure all federal agencies and programs work together and that federal resources are being targeted where needed; and improves existing Department of Justice grants, ensuring that the grants also support shelters for survivors, according to the House Judiciary Committee. 
  • Stop Exploitation Through Trafficking Act (HR 159): — Bipartisan — “Provides incentives to states to adopt safe harbor laws that treat trafficked children as victims, rather than as criminals or delinquents. The bill also provides an avenue for victims to access job skills training so that they can begin to rebuild their lives,” according to the House Judiciary Committee. 
  • Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act (HR 181): — Bipartisan — “Boosts support and protection for domestic human trafficking victims by increasing and streamlining law enforcement resources, enhancing victims’ services, and strengthening our laws to ensure that both buyers and sellers engaged in sex trafficking are held accountable for their crimes,” according to the House Judiciary Committee. 
  • Stop Advertising Victims of Exploitation Act (HR 285): — Bipartisan — “To criminalize those who knowingly advertise or profit from advertisements that offer the commercial exploitation of children and trafficking victims,” according to the House Judiciary Committee. 
  • Enhancing Services for Runaway and Homeless Victims for Youth Trafficking Act (HR 468): — Bipartisan — Would “improve support provided specifically to runaway and homeless youth who are victims of sex trafficking,” according to the House Education and Workforce Committee. Enable the Secretary of Health and Human Services to apply existing grant resources to train relevant staff on the effects of human trafficking in runaway and homeless youth victims, and for developing state-wide strategies to serve such youth. Allow the secretary to utilize the Street Outreach Program to provide street-based services for runaway and homeless youth who are victims of trafficking. 
  • Strengthening Child Welfare Response to Trafficking Act (HR 469): — Bipartisan — Would “improve practices within state child welfare systems to identify and document sex trafficking victims,” according to the House Education and Workforce Committee. Direct states to have procedures to identify and assess reports involving children who are victims of sex trafficking, and train child protective services workers on how to do so. Require states to identify services that address the needs of children who are victims of sex trafficking. 

January 23, 2015

Slavery: Then and Now


giveaways to raise awareness of modern slavery


SLAVERY STILL EXISTS


"I want to be very clear:  I'm talking about real slavery.  This is not about lousy marriages, this is not about jobs that suck, this is about people who can not walk away, people who are forced to work without pay, people who are operating 24/7 under a threat of violence, and have no pay.  It's real slavery in exactly the same way that slavery would be recognized throughout all of human history."
           - Kevin Bales (from his TED Talk in 2010.)

I think sometimes when people first hear about millions of people in modern slavery today they wonder, "Is it REAL slavery that we're talking about?  Or is this just some metaphor for being trapped in bad circumstances?"  But the more I learn about slavery today, the more clear it is that this is LITERAL slavery.  I have read stories of people beaten if they would not work, people's lives being threatened if they tried to leave, and even some branded with tattoos so that they could be found again if they escaped.  Slavery today, looks a lot like slavery a few hundred years ago (though there are some differences).  Read on...

Past and Present Slavery
A Side by Side Comparison 

Then Today
For most of history, in most places, slavery was legal. (1b, 1c) Today, slavery is officially illegal around the world, though laws against slavery are not always enforced, and some countries lack laws covering some forms of slavery.  Still, slavery as a criminal activity exists worldwide. (1c, 2)
The average cost for a old-world slave was around $12,000 to $40,000 (adjusted to today's currency), and were treated as a long term investment (1d, 2)The average cost of obtaining a slave, worldwide, today is somewhere between $90 - $400.  In North America, the cost is around $3,000 to $8,000--still a fraction of what it cost when slavery was legal here.  The result of this is that today's slaves are often treated like disposable resources. (2)
Slaves were subject to beatings and other forms of violence and abuse. (1d) Beatings and other forms of  violence are still tools traffickers use to keep people enslaved today. (2)
Women slaves were often raped by their masters and subjected to other sexual exploitation. (1d) Women in slavery today are still subject to rape, even when they are trafficked primarily for labor, not sex. (2)
Tattoos were used to mark people as slaves in ancient China, Greece and Rome, and branding was common during the trans-atlantic slave trade. In both ancient Rome and in the U.S. south, metal collars were sometimes put on slaves who tried to run away. (1d, 1e, 1f, 1g, 4)Today, sex traffickers sometimes tattoo their victims so that they can mark prostitutes as "theirs" and track them down if they try to leave.  These tattoos may be names or designs like logos, and often  incorporate bar codes that can be scanned by smart phones.  In Niger, Wahaya slaves are sometimes made to wear heavy brass ankle bracelets to signify their slave status.  (5,6, 7a, 7b)
In the past, slavery was an important part of world economies, and a large percentage of many nations were slaves.  Here is a sampling of nations who's historical slave prevalence we know (numbers are rounded).

Percentage of 
Population Enslaved
(by Year Recorded)

150 BC - Rome - 30-40%
1086 - England - 10%
1930 - Ethiopia - 12% to 25%
1910 - Korea - 30% to 50%
1860 - United States - 13%

(1b,1g)


The percentage of the world population enslaved today is lower than at any time in modern history, and the money generated by slavery today is the "tiniest proportion of the global economy to ever be represented by slave labor." (2)   The exact percentage of slaves in the world today is impossible to  determine as slavery today is  mostly a criminal, underground activity, and no longer publicly recorded as it often was under legal slavery.  But the largest  slave population in the world today is most likely Mauritania, where an estimated 4% of the population is still enslaved. (2, 8, 9)   



Access printable version of this chart for classroom use
 with additional alternative chart for elementary age children.

"The past, the present, and the future are really one:  They are today"
~Harriet Beecher Stowe, 18th Century Abolitionist

Sources listed at the bottom of this page.



GIVEAWAY






PRIZES:
One winner will receive the items pictured above...



Set of 3 "Voices of Freedom" Bookmarks by 8th Wonder Creations

TO ENTER:
This giveaway is open to residents over 18 of the United States, Canada (except Quebec), and the United Kingdom. Enter on the Rafflecopter below.  Read complete rules here.

(NOTE:  I'm so sorry I can't offer these giveaways in more places right now.  If where you live isn't on this list, please help me bring next year's Heart's Should Be Free giveaways to your country by helping me researching giveaway laws there.  e-mail me at ecarian@yahoo.com for more info).


a Rafflecopter giveaway





SOURCES:

1.  Wikipedia: 
1b. Slavery
1c. Abolition of Slavery Timeline
1d. Treatment_of_slaves_in_the_United_States
1e. Human Branding
1f. History of Tattooing
1g. Slavery in Ancient Rome
1e. 1860 US Census

2.  How to Combat Modern Slavery, 2010 TED Talk by Kevin Bales (Transcript)

3. Sexual Violence in Labor Trafficking

4.  Object Record:  Slave Collar

5.  Tattood Trafficking Survivors Reclaiming Their Past - The Guardian

6. The Ink 180 Story

7.  Anti Slavery.org
7a. Descent Based Slavery
7b. Wahaya:  Young Girls Sold Into Slavery
(This article has been taken down, but there is another related article here.   I do not know if it contains the exact info but does talk about the Wahaya practice)
8.  Global Slavery Index - 2014 Report


9.  "The Global Markets in Modern Day Slavery" by Gary Craig Criminal Justice Matters, Volume 97, Issue 1, 2014

10 "Twenty First Century Slaves:  Combating Global Sex Trafficking" by Siddharth Kara










January 15, 2015

10 Facts About Slavery


I remember when I first read about modern slavery...I was spending some time flipping through a magazine waiting for my class to start, when I turned a page and read a headline about people trying to free slaves, TODAY.  I was shocked!  Didn't slavery end with the civil war?  Why had I never heard about this before?  What I read described children in Africa being kidnapped, forced to work as slaves, and desperate parents trying to buy their children back.

But it wasn't until years later that I would learn how widespread slavery still is.   While legal slavery in the US ended with emancipation, throughout the world and even in the US, slavery continues.   I'm not talking about people paid too little, or "enslaved" by their circumstances, but REAL slavery, where people are forced to work or prostitute themselves and kept enslaved through  fraud, coercion and threat of violence.

Every year for Hearts Should Be Free I update a short list of facts about slavery to share on the first giveaway post.  I'll go further into detail on some of these aspects of slavery in some later HSBF giveaways, but here are just a few brief facts to get you started:

10 Facts About Modern Slavery
  1. Millions of people are estimated to be in slavery today.  
  2. Slave traffickers maintain control of their victims through various means, including violence, coercion  and threats of harm to loved ones.  
  3. The modern "slave trade" is commonly referred to as "human trafficking."  
  4. Though slavery has been banned throughout the world, in many countries laws against slavery are not enforced, and in others they are inadequate (only covering certain types of slavery, or certain victims).  At least nine nations have no legislation specifically criminalizing slavery. 
  5. Sex trafficking accounts for 58% of all human trafficking.  Forced labor makes up around 38%.  Other forms of human trafficking include forced marriage and forced enlistment of child soldiers.  
  6. Victims of forced labor have been found in nearly every job setting imaginable...including factories, restaurants, private homes, medical facilities, farms, and construction sites. 
  7. 33% of trafficking victims identified worldwide are children. 
  8. While poverty can leave people more vulnerable to enslavement, this is not just a third-word problem.  Slavery is present even in developed nations like the United States.
  9. There are reported cases of modern slavery in every country of the world, except Greenland. 
  10. We are closer to ending slavery than ever before.  The number of people in slavery today is the smallest percentage of the global population enslaved in modern history. Some experts believe that slavery could be eradication within 30 years.  

*Identified victims are victims of trafficking that have been in contact with an institution (such as the police,  social services, shelters run by the state or by NGOs, etc.)

SOURCES:  U.S. State Department Trafficking in Persons Report - 2014 (1,2), International Labor Organization (1, 3)  Polaris Project (3) UNDOC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons - 2014  (4,5,7) SlaveryFootprint.org  (6) See my collection of links to stories about victims in various industries (8,10) Kevin Bale's TED Talk  (9) Alliance Against Modern Slavery  (10) BBC

    Would you like to do something to stop slavery?  One simple thing you can do is spread the word!  Please feel free to copy this list and share it on your blog, tweet about it, etc.  Please include the sources, and if you use this list verbatim, let others know they are allowed to share it.

    For more ideas on how to fight modern slavery, click here.



    GIVEAWAY (CLOSED)
    Bethany of Fret Knot Jewelry has graciously offered to give one of you one of her Arrow Bracelets, in the size and color of your choice.  These beautiful bracelets also have a beautiful story, which you can read below.   And they are doing something beautiful too---for each of these Bracelets sold on Etsy, $4 will be donated to help victims of human trafficking.



    "This design came to life when I was asked to make something as a symbol of hope for two trafficked girls who had been rescued. Some friends made them each a handmade hope chest, and filled it with things that represented a fresh start, and of course, hope (including the first two arrow bracelets I ever mailed off). The teens have since gone on to speak out and be a voice about human trafficking in their home state and even across the country--truly inspirational to many others."
    ~ Bethany

    Find Fred Knot Jewelry At


    HOW TO ENTER 
    Enter on the Rafflecopter below.  Giveaway is open only to residents of the US, UK, and Canada (excluding Quebec).   You must be 18 or older to enter.  Read complete rules here.


    a Rafflecopter giveaway

    Hearts Should Be Free - 2015

    Did you know that slavery still exists today?  I don't mean metaphorical slavery...I mean actual slavery where people are forced to work without pay, beaten, threatened, and not allowed to leave.

    Heart's Should Be Free is an event I first started January 2012 using giveaways to spread awareness about this injustice, because people can't change something they don't know is happening.

    Sponsors have donated some beautiful prizes you can win, and each giveaway post will help you learn about a different aspect of modern slavery, and the fight against it.






    The Giveaways Are Now Ended

    See Winners Below





    ~~~~





    Arrow Bracelet Giveaway 

    Sponsored by Fret Knot Jewelry
    Winner:  Christina H.




    Valentines and Bookmarks Giveaway
    Sponsored by Scribbleprints and 8th Wonder Creations
    Winner:  Marsha C.






    "Forever Summer" Necklace and Bracelet Giveaway

    Sponsored by UnBound Syle
    Winner:  Jennifer H.




    Winner:  Desiree R.




    A Giveaway for Hope

    Sponsored by Poppy and Pinecone,
    Zen Custom Jewelry27 Bath and Body
    and 8th Wonder Creations.
    Winner:  Nina N.







    WANT TO HELP?

    Volunteer Info Here

    More Ways to Fight Modern Slavery

    Short URL for this Page:
    ttp://tinyurl.com/HSBF2015

    Hearts Should Be Free Giveaway Rules

    ELIGIBILITY:
    2015 Hearts Should Be Free giveaways are only open to residents of the US, UK, and Canada (excluding Quebec).   You must be 18 or older to enter.    Immediate family members, employees or contractors of the sponsor or blog host are not eligible to win.

    FURTHER RULES:
    • No purchase necessary.  Void where illegal.
    • Entries that do not follow the submission guidelines are invalid.
    • Winner will be announced on the blog post no more than 2 days after entries end, and notified by the e-mail they provided through Rafflecopter.  Prizes not claimed within 7 days will be forfeited.
    CANADIANS
    Canadians will be required to solve a trivia or math problem to meet the Canadian giveaway law requirement for a skill test.  (Sorry about that).  

    PRIVACY/PERMISSIONS
    By entering you give us and the sponsor permission to use your info to contact you to notify you if you win and deliver your prize.     Your info will not be sold.   If you sign up for a newsletter, updates, to volunteer, or ask for any additional information as part of this giveaway or otherwise, than your info will be used for those purposes.

    LIABILITY
    If for some unforeseen reason the prize pictured/named can not be delivered, a alternate prize of similar value or equivalent cash amount may be substituted.  Neither the sponsor nor Such Fun to Give/Hearts Should Be Free is responsible if item is damaged or lost in the mail.

    I am in no way affiliated with CNN, The Polaris Project, or any of the other sources for information about slavery I link to or otherwise promote on these giveaways.

    CONTACT
    You can contact the host of Hearts Should Be Free at ecarian@yahoo.com.

    January 14, 2015

    2015 Heart Should Be Free Starts January 15!

    I wanted to give a shout out to the wonderful shops who have signed up to sponsor a giveaway for Hearts Should Be Free, and to thank these artists for helping helping with this event to spread awareness of the millions of people in slavery today. Below are some of the great gift items you can find in their shops  (no, this isn't a list of the prizes...though a few of the prizes may be among what's pictured).


    ZEN CUSTOM JEWELRY










    FRET KNOT'S JEWELRY










    UNBOUND STYLE










    LIL'S BITS OF GLASS










    FUN AND BAUBLES









    LADY MONACO CRAFTS










    27 BATH AND BODY









    POPPY AND PINECONE









    SCRIBBLEPRINTS

    Rose on Weathered Wood Guitar Pick Heart of Flowers Ornaments Scribbleprint Heart Photo Card Business Card Templates Inner Child Button

    January 13, 2015

    Easy Wins: Low Entry Giveaways

    I no longer have time to maintain this link up. So sorry. 
     
    The cool thing about blog giveaways is you can usually tell now many people are entered. The less entered, the better your chances to win. Here's some I found with low entries ending soon.  The numbers of entries listed is from when it was posted, and has probably grown some since. 

    If you have a giveaway with less than 150 entries per prize ending in the next 6 day, please add it to the linky below.  (Read instructions first, thanks).


    Please check out our Giveaways for Good and Regular Giveaway list too.




    RULES FOR ADDING GIVEAEWAY TO LINKY

    1.  ONLY add giveaways ending in 7 days or less.

    2.  Only add giveaways with under 200 entries per winner 

    2.  Please include the following info:
    prize,  end date, countries open to, current number of entries
    (and number of winners if more than one)

    EXAMPLES

    $5 Amazon Gift Certificate (2/31) WW 20 Entries

    Earrings (3/28) US 200 entries/2 winners




    GIVEAWAYS UNDER 200 ENTRIES - LINK UP HERE


    January 12, 2015

    General Giveaway Link-Up

    This is a general link up for any giveaways.  Old giveaways will be deleted occasionally   

    RULES FOR LINKING UP

    1.  Link to specific giveaway post or page.

    2.  Include prize, end date, and where eligible (US, CAN, WW, etc.)


    Full Disclosure:  Some of the links below may be referral links added by me, which earn me extra entries. So thanks for entering!


    January 2, 2015

    Easy Wins: Low Entry Giveaways



    The cool thing about blog giveaways is you can usually tell now many people are entered. The less entered, the better your chances to win. Here's some I found with low entries ending soon!

    If you have a giveaway with less than 100 entries per prize ending in the next 6 day, please submit it here.    (I sometimes post up to 200 entries, but only if ending within a day).  






    January 5

    Neutragena Men's Skincare Package (26 entries) - US


    January 7

    Lip Balm and Lip Scrub (22 entries) - US, Canada




    BELOW:  NOT LOW ENTRY - BUT COOL!
    Yep, I'm sharing the following extra cool but not low entry giveaways because
     I get extra entries for doing so.   Low entry listings above that are starred I also 
    get extra entries for posting.




    COMING SOON!

    Hearts Should Be Free 
    Coming January 15!

    Still looking for Volunteers and Sponsors!