GFEMS envisions a world of dignity with freedom from exploitation for all, transformed by those most proximate to the issue.
At the Global Fund, we are building on lessons learned and feedback from grantees to update our approach, amplify impact, and better serve the sector. We are committed to creating an environment where survivor-leaders and grassroots organizations can thrive. Our framework focuses on 3 core areas:
We fund local advocates and activists focusing on local, regional, or global advocacy to elevate the issue and increase resources for the sector.
We work with partners to develop survivor-informed practices, narratives, and approaches and provide funding for survivor-led orgs.
We provide flexible funding & capacity strengthening to grassroots anti-trafficking orgs to ultimately help build the foundation for a movement.
Despite investments to date in anti-trafficking programming, the estimates of people in modern slavery have increased from 40 million to 50 million. Simultaneously the issue has slipped off the global agenda, displaced by some of the issues that have exacerbated it–COVID, conflict, and climate change.
We have updated our approach in 2023 to address these realities, recognizing the power imbalances, to ensure survivor-centered approaches and flexible funding. We believe that to address human trafficking we need a strong and vibrant movement led by those most proximate to the issue.
This updated approach has been developed based on feedback from our partners implementing over 40 projects across India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, the Philippines, Kenya, Uganda, Brazil, Malaysia, and more.
GFEMS launched in 2017 after a group of anti-trafficking leaders agreed that a coordinated global effort was needed to advance action against modern slavery. Historically, global efforts had not reached the scale or level of coordination needed to address the challenge. GFEMS was originally created to mobilize resources for the sector and coordinate global anti-slavery efforts.
Our StoryGFEMS seeks to do this by supporting advocacy and providing flexible funding for survivor-leaders, activists, and grassroots organizations around the world.
We are proud of our work and partners over the years. Explore more:
Generating evidence is a central part of advancing the fight against slavery. Creating more and better data is important to everyone in the anti-slavery fight. GFEMS invested in research and integrated rigorous evaluation into all of our project designs. Using proven research methods from other social sciences, robust monitoring and evaluation, and with an extensive network of partners, we have pushed research frontiers in the anti-slavery space and will continue to build on these insights. See more of our work on creating evidence for action: