Bonded Labor Legal Aid Fund
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Funds legal representation for workers in debt bondage arrangements, pursuing release under existing but under-enforced labor law.
Why this matters in India
Debt bondage usually starts with an advance. A family borrows from a kiln owner, quarry contractor or labor agent, often to pay a medical bill or a wedding, and is then made to work off the loan at wages so low that the debt never shrinks. Brick kiln workers are frequently seasonal migrants who travel with spouses and children from poorer states, which cuts them off from any local support once they arrive.
The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act has outlawed the practice since 1976, and a central government scheme provides rehabilitation assistance to people who are officially released. Both depend on district officials identifying victims, issuing a release certificate and prosecuting employers, and that chain often breaks: complaints go unrecorded, inquiries stall and convictions are rare. Without a lawyer pressing each step, a freed worker may never receive the certificate that opens access to compensation, and the employer has little reason to stop.
What your gift pays for
- Lawyers who represent released workers in criminal cases against employers and traffickers
- Follow-up with district officials to secure release certificates and rehabilitation payments
- Travel and lodging so survivors and witnesses can attend hearings far from home
- Aftercare for freed families as they return home and rebuild a steady income
Organization
International Justice Mission (IJM) India · India
parent: International Justice Mission (US IRS EIN) · No. 54-1722887
Founded 2000
IJM works with Indian authorities to rescue bonded labourers and support prosecutions and release certificates under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act.
How they work: IJM's model is to strengthen the public justice system rather than work around it. Its Indian staff of lawyers and social workers bring suspected cases of bonded labor to district magistrates and police, who carry out the rescue and inquiry. IJM lawyers then assist with prosecutions, while social workers support survivors through aftercare and rehabilitation. The organization also trains officials and works with survivor-led groups, such as the Released Bonded Labourers Association, which help identify people still held in bondage.
Track record: As of 2010 IJM reported 101 rescue operations in India since 2000, freeing over 3,000 bonded labour victims from brick kilns, rice mills, quarries and salt works.
✓ Verified by our team on 20 December 2025
Giving in India
Scale defines the causes listed for India, which accounts for roughly 25 percent of global TB cases. One fund supports community TB treatment points and adherence support; others address falling groundwater, monsoon floods, degraded watersheds and irrigation for smallholder cooperatives. Social causes reach children living on city streets and workers held in debt bondage, and a central-kitchen fund carries forward the long-standing Hindu practice of giving free food, serving mainly schoolchildren. Partners include Operation ASHA, WaterAid India and International Justice Mission.
8 causes are listed in India, each with its own verified organization. $439,066 has been distributed to causes in India since 2021.
Our guide to giving in India · all 8 causes
भारत में क्रिप्टो दान: 8 सत्यापित कार्यों में सहयोग करें
Read the guide and compare causes →
See all Human Rights & Legal Aid causes and how we choose them →
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