Program areas at International Justice Mission
Field operationsinternational Justice Mission's field operations respond to a vast and devastating category of need: violence against people in poverty.the threat of violence is part of everyday life for people who are poor. According to the global slavery index, approximately 50 million people are estimated to be living in situations of modern slavery. The International labor organization estimates that human trafficking for sexual or labor slavery generates profits in excess of more than $150 billion annually for traffickers and slave owners; and according to global estimates of modern slavery, 1 in 4 victims of modern slavery is a child. (see schedule o)in many countries, perpetrators of abuse against people in poverty expect no consequences for their crimes, despite laws against the crime.ijm attorneys, investigators, social workers, community activists and other professionals work in 31 communities throughout africa, latin america, europe, south asia and southeast asia to collaborate with Justice system and community leaders to respond effectively to violence. Ijm's teams protect people in poverty from violence, including crimes like slavery, violence against women and children, and police abuse of power. By collaborating with communities and governments, ijm serves individual victims of violence and pursues dramatic improvements in the Justice system to protect all people vulnerable to the crime.for over 25 years, ijm and our partners have worked alongside local authorities to build communities where all people are safe and protected. Together, we have learned how to design improvements within Justice systems that measurably reduce violence and serve survivors with dignity. Ijm does this in the following ways:strengthen Justice systemsijm collaborates with Justice system and community leaders to respond effectively to violence. Together, we design improvements that serve survivors, deter criminals and dramatically decrease violence.rescue and restore victimsijm partners with local authorities to rescue individual victims of violence and restore survivors to safety and stability.bring criminals to justiceijm works alongside Justice system officials to ensure that criminals are held accountable, stopping the cycle of violence and deterring others from abusing vulnerable people.scale demand for protectionijm convened and equipped champions to advocate for protection as an essential and tangible future for everyone.from april 2022 to march 2023, ijm, our partners and trained governments brought relief to 8,980 victims of violence and oppression. Each victory represents the tenacious work of ijm's team of attorneys, social workers, and investigators - work that continues long-term as survivors heal and rebuild their lives with the assistance of ijm aftercare and as ijm attorneys pursue Justice in court, processes that can take years.from april 2022 to march 2023, a total of 3,854 suspected perpetrators were restrained and 1,032 criminals in local courts were convicted. Additionally, 369 survivors were restored to safety and stability. Finally, ijm trained over 34,700 people to recognize and respond to violence, including over 19,700 Justice system officials (such as police, prosecutors, judges and social workers) and over 15,000 church and community members, ngo partners, media and students.
Building a movement:ijm seeks to fuel a global Justice movement and advance its Mission by drawing the world's attention to violence against people who are poor, expanding the number of people and institutions engaged in the fight for Justice, influencing leaders in all sectors to become champions for protecting the people in poverty and equipping christians to joyfully serve in the work of justice.ijm has almost 1,400 staff worldwide, which includes full-time, part-time, contract employees, interns and fellows. Of the employees working in ijm field offices, 92% are nationals of the countries in which they serve. (see schedule o)in places where we work, media and local churches are taking hold of the vision and empowering communities to seek Justice in new and exciting ways.ijm's work has been featured by media outlets such as forbes magazine, the Washington post, the times of india, the guardian, the new york times, the new yorker, foreign affairs, "the today show," "the oprah winfrey show," "dateline nbc," msnbc, cnn, bbc world news, national public radio, national geographic, espn, reuters, among many others.