Freedom Collaborative’s panel discussion at last week’s Asia Region Anti-Trafficking (ARAT) Conference in Bali raised important talking points for the future of anti-trafficking work. Titled “Brave Conversations”, the event was the latest step in our strategy to bring together leaders and create spaces in which to have the frank, honest and open conversations required to move the sector forward. The panelists were all members of Freedom Collaborative’s Advisory Community.

A recent shift in focus towards the root causes of trafficking, and the centering of local communities in decision-making and strategy development, means that an examination of the mindsets and biases within the anti-trafficking sector, and meaningful analysis of its processes and practices, must now take place. Complex questions, such as what leadership looks like, how programs ignore or reinforce colonialist notions, and how storytelling and framing sustain these harmful narratives, need to be asked, and the ARAT panel discussion was designed to help kick-start the conversation.

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