The fight against modern slavery is more urgent than ever. Across the world, the number of people trapped in exploitation is rising, posing a serious challenge for organizations like Arise that are dedicated to fighting this injustice. While it’s important to celebrate progress and recognize the incredible work being done throughout the anti-trafficking sector, we must also be honest about the challenges we face. True change requires transparency, accountability, and a willingness to improve.
That’s why, when I joined Arise two years ago, we committed to independent, in-country evaluations of our work. Our mission is to strengthen, sustain, and amplify the impact of frontline organizations fighting slavery and human trafficking. But after more than eight years of work, how effective have our interventions been? What do the frontline groups we support think about our approach?
To begin answering these questions, we commissioned a local evaluation team to assess our work in the Philippines where Arise partners with grassroots groups engaged in child protection and anti-trafficking efforts, providing strategic funding, training, network-building, and capacity development. Our goal is to raise awareness of child protection and online sexual exploitation, support survivors, empower communities, and ultimately build a stronger country-wide anti-trafficking movement.
The evaluation brought encouraging insights. It highlighted that Arise’s approach to selecting frontline partners is “commendable for its inclusivity and grassroots orientation”, ensuring even smaller organizations receive crucial resources to expand their impact. “By allowing both well-established and emerging organizations to apply for grants, Arise ensures that funding reaches those directly involved in addressing trafficking and abuse.”
Another key finding affirmed our commitment to amplifying frontline voices. The evaluation noted that we play a vital role in fostering collaboration between different groups, creating networks that enhance coordination and collective action. Importantly, frontline groups reported an increase in case reporting and youth participation in anti-trafficking initiatives—tangible signs of progress.
However, the evaluation also pointed to areas for improvement such as the need for stronger monitoring and evaluation systems which will enable data-driven activity planning. This will ensure we can continue to measure the long-term impact of our work. But, critically, this will depend on Arise being able to provide long-term, sustainable support. The clear message
from the frontline is that long-term impact is difficult, if not impossible, to achieve with short-term funding support.
This evaluation confirms that Arise is making a real difference in the fight against modern slavery in the Philippines. At the same time, it provides clear guidance on how we can improve and ensure our work remains relevant, effective, and sustainable.
We are deeply grateful to the evaluation team for their honest assessment and to our frontline partners for their unwavering dedication. If you would like to learn more about our work in the Philippines—or support us in implementing these key recommendations—please contact me directly on movement@arise.foundation.
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