Coordinating with three anti-trafficking organizations, the Web giant aims to use data collected by helplines around the world to fight modern-day slavery.
In an effort to combat human trafficking and provide help for victims, Google has launched a new joint project with three advocacy organizations -- Polaris Project, Liberty Asia, and La Strada International. Dubbed the Human Trafficking Hotline Network, this project aims to create a consolidated global hotline connected to a data-driven network.
Here's more on the project from a blog post by Google Ideas director Jared Cohen and Google Giving director Jacquelline Fuller:
Human trafficking, the narcotics trade and weapons smuggling all have one major thing in common: Their ill-gotten proceeds feed conflict, instability and repression worldwide. Out of all of these, human trafficking is perhaps the most devastating, enslaving nearly 21 million people and generating at least $32 billion of illicit profits every year. At last summer's Google Ideas summit on mapping, disrupting and exposing illicit networks, it became clear that connecting anti-trafficking helplines in a global data sharing collaboration could help identify illicit patterns and provide victims anywhere in the world with more effective support.The idea is to fight highly sophisticated and tech-savvy traffickers with some technical know-how of its own. According to Google, there are helplines around the globe, but most are working in isolation. The goal of this project is to connect the data from these helplines to identify trafficking hotspots and help advocates better understand how to respond.
For example, the main hotline in the U.S. is operated by the National Human Trafficking Resource Center. The Polaris Project has worked with the center for more than five years and has taken 72,000 calls, connected 8,300 survivors to services and support, and reported 3,000 cases of human trafficking to law enforcement. However, there are more than 65 different hotlines like this around the world, according to Google. If all of their data could be collected in one spot, it could be a game changer for battling human trafficking.
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Google awarded each of the three organizations a $3 million Global Impact Award to work on coordinating the project. So far, the Web giant has given $14.5 million in grants to fight human trafficking.
Dara
Kerr, a freelance journalist based in the Bay Area, is fascinated by
robots, supercomputers and Internet memes. When not writing about
technology and modernity, she likes to travel to far-off countries.
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