In early 2010, Selene Martin, director of LexisNexis Cares, spoke before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in Washington, D.C. about LexisNexis' efforts to combat human trafficking in the U.S. and worldwide.
Human trafficking – an estimated $28 billion dollar enterprise – is one of the most serious threats to the protection of human rights as it exploits the most vulnerable populations, in the most vulnerable circumstances, in a predatory manner both within and across international borders.
Selene shared LexisNexis' three-pronged strategy to help combat human trafficking – a strategy that includes awareness, victim support and training.
- To promote awareness, LexisNexis and Priority Films will premiere "Redlight", a highly-acclaimed feature documentary on child sexploitation that
- depicts the personal stories of young Cambodian victims as well as two remarkable advocates for change: Somaly Mam and Mu Sochua.
- To support victims of human trafficking, the company partnered with Somaly Mam to create the Somaly Mam Foundation. The foundation, based in the U.S., supports rescue, shelter and rehabilitation programs across Southeast Asia and is viewed as a global leader in awareness and advocacy campaigns that shed light on the crime of sexual slavery.
- To support training, LexisNexis has provided in-kind support in the way of printing training materials and the use of our facilities as training locations for law enforcement officers, prosecutors and other state and local officials.
In addition, LexisNexis supports the Polaris Project, an NGO (non-governmental organization) based in Washington, D.C. The Polaris Project operates the National Human Trafficking Resource Center and 24/7 hotline. Polaris conducts direct outreach and victim identification and provides transitional housing and social services for thousands of trafficking victims in the U.S.
The company also partnered with the American Bar Association on a symposium to bring together leading human rights law practitioners and advocates in an effort to provide training, resources and assistance to attorneys serving as pro bono counsel to victims of human trafficking.
"Corporate responsibility at LexisNexis…encompasses all aspects of how we behave as a company and how we partner with others to use our unique capabilities to make a greater impact," Selene told the distinguished panel at the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hearing.
"Meaningful, sustainable economic and civic progress can only occur in societies where the Rule of Law exists," she pointed out. "In the absence of the Rule of Law, the likelihood of human rights atrocities such as the trafficking of persons against their will is exacerbated."
Learn moreabout LexisNexis efforts to combat human trafficking. Learn moreabout the LexisNexis Rule of Law Resource Center which provides advocates around the world access to critical information such as applicable law, news and expert analysis.
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