Building on past Olympic impact, Rahab’s Daughters brings data-led prevention and targeted online outreach to fight trafficking in Milan.
LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM, February 6, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — As Milan opens the Winter Olympics today, Rahab’s Daughters announced an expanded, data-informed initiative to prevent human trafficking and exploitation through advanced analysis, digital monitoring, and targeted online outreach—building on results achieved during previous Olympic and large-scale international events.
Large global events can create conditions that traffickers seek to exploit: increased travel, temporary housing, crowded venues, and a surge in online activity. At the same time, technology has reshaped how exploitation operates. Digital platforms, messaging apps, and online marketplaces are increasingly used to recruit, groom, advertise, and control victims—often at scale and with speed that challenges traditional response models.
“Technology has a dark side when it’s used to harm,” said Kendra Fluegeman, Board Chair of Rahab’s Daughters. “But it also gives us powerful tools to see risk earlier, understand patterns, and intervene sooner. Our work is about using data and digital outreach to shift the advantage away from traffickers and toward prevention and protection.”
Proven Impact at Previous Major Events:
Rahab’s Daughters’ Milan initiative builds on lessons and outcomes from prior Olympic cycles and large-scale international events, including the Paris Summer Olympics 2024. Through survivor interviews, hotline reports, and digital monitoring, the organization documented and escalated extensive indicators of exploitation across multiple sectors.
During the Paris 2024 cycle, Rahab’s Daughters’ data-informed and outreach-driven work contributed to:
-Hundreds of potential high-risk reports identified and documented across construction, hospitality, and manufacturing supply chains, including more than 160 reports linked to a single major construction firm and over 100 reports tied to multiple other contractors and developers, based on survivor interviews and hotline data.
-Direct engagement with survivors and vulnerable populations through interviews in refugee camps and urban centers, helping surface cases of labor trafficking, sex trafficking, and grooming linked to Olympic-related activity.
-Identification of digital and in-person grooming patterns, including the use of online platforms to recruit and advertise victims for exploitation tied to Olympic demand, strengthening early-warning visibility in high-risk online spaces.
-Actionable intelligence for partners and stakeholders, including mapping high-risk sectors, routes, and hotspots, and compiling lists of suspected companies and practices based on reports, interviews, and hotline tips, improving coordination and targeted prevention efforts.
These findings confirmed that trafficking linked to major international events is increasingly both a physical and digital crime, and that combining data analysis with targeted outreach can surface risk earlier, guide prevention strategies, and strengthen protection for vulnerable populations before harm escalates These results demonstrated that combining analysis with proactive online engagement can move prevention upstream—helping identify risk earlier and reduce harm before exploitation escalates.
A Three-Pillar Strategy for Milan
Rahab’s Daughters’ current efforts center on three core strategies:
1. Data-Informed Prevention and Detection
The organization analyzes publicly available online signals, trends, and reports to identify patterns associated with exploitation and elevated risk. By tracking changes in posting behavior, activity spikes, and geographic indicators, Rahab’s Daughters works to flag emerging threats earlier and prioritize prevention-focused responses.
2. Countering the Misuse of Technology
Traffickers increasingly rely on digital tools to operate at scale and with anonymity. Rahab’s Daughters focuses on understanding these tactics and the online ecosystems that enable them, using technology to map risk, improve situational awareness, and support more informed, coordinated prevention efforts. The same tools used to exploit can—and must—be used to expose, disrupt, and prevent harm.
3. Targeted Online Outreach and Education
Alongside analysis, the organization is expanding digital outreach to reach vulnerable populations, community members, and the public with clear, accessible information. This includes online education, awareness campaigns, and pathways for reporting concerns or seeking help—reducing isolation and increasing access to support.
“Human trafficking is not only a physical crime—it is increasingly a digital one,” Sharmila Wijeyakumar added. “Prevention today means understanding how exploitation operates online, using data responsibly, and showing up in the same digital spaces with better information, better tools, and real support.”
Rahab’s Daughters’ work around the Milan Winter Olympics reflects a broader commitment to proactive, survivor-centered prevention—combining technology, analysis, and outreach to ensure innovation is used to protect rather than exploit.
You can join us in this fight by reaching out to host an information session or through donating.
For more information about Rahab’s Daughters and its prevention and outreach work, visit our website or contact info@rahabsdaughters.org.
Sharmila Wijeyakumar
Rahab’s Daughters
+1 833-463-9329
email us here
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