Resource Center

Stories

The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast.

These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need.

Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:



Search results for "slavery" ...

  • Mauritania: Slavery's Last Stronghold

    Two CNN Digital reporters traveled to Mauritania -- a West African nation that became the last country in the world to abolish slavery – to document a practice the Mauritanian government denies still exists. Spending nearly a year to gain entry into the country and conducting many of their interviews at night and in covert locations, John Sutter and Edythe McNamee went to great lengths to uncover the tragedy of multigenerational servitude in Mauritania. They met people who’ve never known freedom; people who escaped slavery to find their lives hadn't changed; and abolitionists who have been fighting against slavery for years with minimal results. It was only five years ago -- in 2007 -- that the country finally passed a law that making slavery a crime. So far, only one slave owner has been convicted. The United Nations estimates 10% to 20% of Mauritanians live in slavery today. But the country continues to deny slavery’s existence and attempted to subvert Sutter’s and McNamee’s reporting by assigning to them a government “minder.” Nonetheless, the two succeeded at putting a face on a shocking practice that is similar to slavery in America before the Civil War, in which people are born into slavery and rarely escape. Their report – “Slavery’s Last Stronghold” -- featured a variety of mediums, including personal video accounts and written stories featuring firsthand accounts from freed slaves and one man’s transformative journey from slave owner to abolitionist. It also included related stories – such as the story of escaped Mauritanian slaves now living in Ohio. In response to the initiative, CNN iReport, the network’s global participatory news community, gathered messages of hope and support to be shared at a school for escaped slaves in Nouakchott, Mauritania.

    Tags: slavery; Mauritania; Africa; freedom

    By John D. Sutter; Edythe McNamee

    CNN

    2012

  • "Human Trafficking in America"

    In this series, Kansas City Star reporters find that the U.S. is way behind in its efforts to squash human trafficking. If found, many victims are denied assistance and sometimes deported, placing them right back in harms way. Reporters also find that U.S. authorities, despite spending millions of dollars, have only located a small portion of the victims they estimate to be here.

    Tags: U.S. Department of Labor; Coaltion to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking; Giant Labor Solutions; slavery; Border Patrol; Office of Alien Smuggling Interdiction

    By Mike McGraw; Laura Bauer; Mark Morris

    Star (Kansas City, Mo.)

    2009

  • Investigation into the Chinese Sex Mafia

    A series of investigations uncovers a human trafficking ring in Ghana. Chinese girls are lured to the country by being promised singing careers in African operas but are then sold to wealthy individuals for sex.

    Tags: Ghana; Africa; opera; Chinese; human trafficking; sex slavery; molestation; ring; sex mafia; anas aremeya; crusading guide;

    By Anas Aremeyaw

    The Crusading Guide (Ghana)

    2009

  • A Crime So Monstrous

    "Skinner digs deep to find slaves, slave traders and slave masters in the frontlines of the third world war zones, in rotting urban ghettos, even in suburban America."

    Tags: third world; modern slavery; human trafficking; sex trade; debt-bondage;

    By E. Benjamin Skinner

    Free Press (New York)

    2008

  • Dateline NBC: Children for Sale

    The documentary followed up on a previous investigation into the child sex trade in Cambodia. Five years later, journalists examined the impact their investigation had had on the trade as a whole and in the lives of four girls who had been rescued in an undercover operation highlighted in the original report.

    Tags: sex trade; slavery; Cambodia; human rights; child abuse; brothel; undercover

    By Chris Hansen; Richard Greenberg; Cindy Babski

    NBC News Dateline

    2008

  • People for Sale

    In exploring Canada's human trafficking underworld, the reporters examined the two main types: people being brought in to work the land or in factories and people being brought in to work as personal caregivers. The series also found that the government is doing little to prevent trafficking.

    Tags: human trafficking; human rights; slavery; labor; immigration; Canada

    By Dale Brazao; Kevin Donovak; Andrew Bailey

    Toronto Star (Ontario, Canada)

    2008

  • Against Their Will, Human Trafficking

    Focusing on human trafficking among American teenagers. These teens are "seduced or kidnapped into a life of forced prostitution." Trafficking not only happened in the lower socio-economic or immigrant communities. CBS also examines "sex slavery in wealthy white communities." Finally They look at solutions.

    Tags: human trafficking; sex slaves; sex slavery; Department of Health and Human Services; prostitution; kidnapping; runaways; Abolitionist church movement; NGO

    By Michael Bass; Nanci Ross; Kim Kennedy; Michael Mancini; Tracy Smith; Lindy Smalley

    CBS News

    2007

  • Slaves in Amazon Forced to Make Material Used in Cars

    In Brazil, Peru and Bolivia hundreds of thousands of unemployed men and women are being recruited for slavery. The workers for the slave-camps make charcoal, while being forced to live without housing, electricity or plumbing, and without pay.

    Tags: slave labor; Amazon; South America; labor camps; malaria; tuberculosis; Whirlpool; Nucor; Latin America; Ford; General Motors; Nissan; Toyota; car companies

    By Michael Smith; David Voreacos

    Bloomberg News (New York)

    2006

  • Children for Sale

    Dateline investigated the child sex trade in Cambodia. The story led to the prosecution of a Canadian man for purchasing sex with children there. The investigative team worked with a human rights group whose sting operation led to the arrest of pimps and the rescue of three dozen girls.

    Tags: sex trade; Cambodia; sex slavery; sex abuse; pedophilia; prostitution; forced prostitution

    By Richard Greenberg;Chris Hansen;Andrew Finkelstein;Allan Maraynes;David Corvo

    NBC News Dateline

    2005

  • Modern Day Slavery

    This series of investigations revealed that in the last four years, officials have prosecuted five cases of slavery in Southwest Florida and that an estimated 20 to 50 thousand people a year are smuggled into the U.S. as indentured servants. These "slaves" are abused or mistreated and many women are forced into prostitution. Some women are tricked into coming into America under the illusion that they are being recruited as models.

    Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; slavery; migrant farm; indentured servants; human traffickers; U.S. Attorney's office; Cuba; Brazil; labor

    By Brian Johnson;Chris Cifatte;Patrick Bloodgood;Darren Whitehead

    WINK-TV (Fort Myers, Fla.)

    2004