In Conversation with Model, Activist and Beauty for Freedom Ambassador Joanna Pauline

Beauty for Freedom (BFF), as an anti-trafficking organization, has always strived to connect communities and champion freedom via our global educational programming for survivors of human trafficking and at-risk youth along with our advocacy and awareness-raising campaigns.  Our team has strived for ways to connect our ambassadors and artists to the global community by creating a project which could break the barriers of the insular lives we faced through and beyond the pandemic  while creating the possibility of uniting, connecting, sharing ideas, educating, and embracing our humanity through the arts and music.

BFF launched Breaking Distance as a way to continue connecting with our global community while sharing critical topics affecting our world and inspiring conversations. Topics covered include global health, human trafficking, art, music and mental health and wellness. 

According to the International Labor Organization, the latest estimates show that forced labor and forced marriage have increased significantly in the last five years. Fifty million people were living in modern slavery in 2021, according to the latest Global Estimates of Modern Slavery. Of these people, 28 million were in forced labor and 22 million were trapped in forced marriage. The number of people in modern slavery has risen significantly in the last five years. 10 million more people were in modern slavery in 2021 compared to 2016 global estimates. Women and children remain disproportionately vulnerable. Modern slavery occurs in almost every country worldwide, cutting across ethnic, cultural, and religious lines. More than half (52 percent) of all forced labor and a quarter of all forced marriages can be found in upper-middle-income or high-income countries.

BEAUTY FOR FREEDOM (BFF) is a non-profit dedicated to empowering survivors of human trafficking and at-risk youth by providing a therapeutic approach supporting recovery through creativity and skills training.

Beauty for Freedom engages the industries of Beauty, Art, and Fashion as powerful allies in the fight to end human trafficking through national public campaigns, travel-abroad arts therapy workshops for survivors, mentoring programs, and exhibitions/events. BFF helps students develop their advocacy and activism skills as they empower and support local nonprofits, on-campus youth groups, and local advocacy platforms, as well as nurture their own hopes and dreams for a better world. Sustainable impact happens over time and that is where we feel our bigger mission lives.

Creativity has been proven to help survivors rebuild their lives, providing them with stability and putting them on the path to socioeconomic independence. Since 2014, BFF has empowered and supported over 3500 survivors of human trafficking and at-risk youth in the United States and globally.
https://beautyforfreedom.org/

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About Joanna Pauline

Joanna Pauline is a Filipina, New York City raised, model, actress, and activist living an international lifestyle. Throughout her career, Joanna has traveled to diverse cities and landscapes, exploring and creating as she goes. Riding horses, cooking, and adding new languages to her multilingual skills are her favorite things to do. She’s a speaker and project manager for Beauty For Freedom, an organization dedicated to helping survivors of human trafficking heal through art, while spreading awareness to the public. Dedicated to natural beauty and authenticity, she encourages other women and girls to stay true to themselves, something she believes is crucial in this age of perfectionism and unrealistic beauty imagery spread on social media.

Joanna Pauline Instagram

National Human Trafficking Hotline

https://humantraffickinghotline.org/en

Global Estimates of Slavery

https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_855019/lang--en/index.htm

Trafficking in Persos Report 2022

https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-trafficking-in-persons-report/