Globally, an estimated 40 million people are living in modern slavery — including forced labor, debt bondage, forced marriage, and human trafficking. In fact, more people are in slavery now than at any other point in history. Human trafficking is a gross violation of human rights and undermines progress towards the UN's Global Goals, including Goal 8 for decent work, and the mission to ensure a world that's equal and fair.

Sophie Otiende is a teacher, feminist, and human trafficking survivor advocate from Kenya. She was just 13 when she was enslaved by her uncle, after a promise that he would support her in joining a new school. After 11 months of exploitation and sexual abuse, Otiende’s mother took her home — where she was able to complete her education and go to university, alongside volunteering with NGOs. In January this year, she took on a new role, joining the board of directors at the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery, an international anti-slavery fund.

Here, she writes about her own experience of surviving human trafficking, and how she is working to help put survivors at the heart of the movement to end it. You can read more from the In My Own Words series here.

Read the full article about advocacy for survivors of human trafficking by Sophie Otiende at Global Citizen.