Ima Matul, a former domestic worker and survivor of human trafficking, took center stage and delivered an impassioned speech to millions of people during the recent Democratic National Convention.

“Human trafficking is not just happening overseas; it is happening right here in our backyard,” stated Ima, a leader in the anti-trafficking movement. Ima organizes survivors at the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST) and serves as an appointee to the President’s Advisory Council on Human Trafficking. “There is growing awareness about the devastating impact of human trafficking. And there’s a growing commitment to finding innovative solutions to make sure this generation of survivors will be the last.”

Watch video of her remarks here.

With an estimated 21 million survivors of trafficking globally, RoadMap’s partners at the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) commend the inclusion of this powerful speaker at the DNC and the focus on anti-trafficking as a core priority for our country. In 2013 NDWA launched the Beyond Survival campaign to respond to this crisis and build capacity to respond to the trafficking of domestic workers in the U.S. and around the world.

Ima, and survivor leaders of the Beyond Survival campaign like Sri Maya with RoadMap’s partner Adhikaar in New York and Francisca with our partner Mujeres Unidas y Activas in California, are speaking out tirelessly to bring attention and solutions to this critical issue. In the United States, domestic workers, almost half of whom are immigrant women, face situations of trafficking at some of the highest rates among reported cases. Despite this, domestic workers continue to be excluded from many labor law protections in the U.S. and abroad.

RoadMap is honored to work with these powerful women and organizations!