Meet the Heroes

Queen Silvia was the Patron of the First World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of children, held in 1996 in Stockholm.

After she completed several successful Senate terms, Nancy Kassebaum accompanied her husband to Japan, where he served as the United States Ambassador.

The Sisters of the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament were founded in 1850, when Sister Maria Micaela began to help the mistreated prostitutes in Madrid.

A French NGO worker, Pierre Legros and a trafficking victim, Somaly Mam, founded one of the most influential sex trafficking NGOs in Asia.

An international superstar, Ricky Martin and his foundation, created in 2000, have been extensively involved in anti-trafficking work.

As a journalist in Tajikistan, Adiba Umarova was able to re-open a cold case which led to the arrest of a trafficking ringleader.

Aida Mbodj is a powerful politician in Senegal, well-respected and admired, who used her political power to combat human trafficking in the early part of the millennium.

After witnessing the after-effects of a 1988 fire, Amod Kanth created the NGO Prayas, an organization for disenfranchised and distressed children in India.

Angelina Atyam’s fight to combat human trafficking was personal: the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) abducted her daughter.

Ansar Burney began as a student activist in the 1970s, and has fought for justice and human rights ever since, including for the rights of children.

A television personality, Dewi Hughes became the spokesperson for a Campaign to Eliminate the Trafficking of Indonesian Women and Children.