Nvader

Background

Nvader was founded in 2009 by Daniel Walker (a pseudonym, a former police detective from Christchurch, New Zealand. The organisation became operational in 2012, and its first deployment, to Southeast Asia, occurred in October 2012. During this deployment Nvader was able to establish relationships with other NGOs, local churches, and law enforcement. Until 2013, Nvader was run from different New Zealand cities but in February 2013, moved to one city. In 2016 Nvader's Head Office moved from Christchurch to Thailand, and Walker left Nvader in order to remain in New Zealand.

Walker states that Nvader is shaped by his own experiences – both successes and failures. Walker spent over 20 years working in the New Zealand Police Force. From 2002-2006, he spent time carrying out undercover investigations for American organisations. Walker does not disclose the names of these organisations, but Carolyn Enting, a writer for MiNDFOOD Magazine, after an interview with Walker in 2014, reports that during this time Walker had cooperated with agencies such as the United States Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Vancouver City Police Department, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Enting also writes that Walker was trained by people from the FBI and DEA, the United States Law Enforcement Instructors Alliance, the US Northeastern Tactical School and from current and former US Special Forces members. While working for American organisations, he conducted undercover investigations inside brothels in South and Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, Atlanta, US and Las Vegas, US; 13 different countries in total. He would pose as a potential client, or a sex tour operator, in order to find victims of sex trafficking. He would use cameras to record transactions and speak to victims to gather evidence that could be used to prosecute those guilty of trafficking and trafficking-related offences. Walker states that he rescued several hundred victims during his time working for these organisations.

However Walker noted that often during this work best practices were not followed. He often went on solo missions and was not properly debriefed. Walker used what he learnt during these 4 years in the creation and operation of Nvader. Nvader's methods are based on best practices, ensuring that both the successes and failures Walker encountered in his work before Nvader are taken into account. Having investigators work in a team, daily briefing and debriefing, clinical psychological supervision, and allowing team members' spouses to partake in decision-making are all part of Nvader's methods.

Work

Nvader has rescued women and children from brothels in Laos and Thailand. These victims have been trafficked within and between those countries, and from other places, such as Myanmar, Africa, and Russia. Laos and Thailand are source, transit, and destination countries for all types of human trafficking. The 2015 United States Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report notes that "[sex] trafficking remains a significant problem in Thailand's extensive sex trade". The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 2014 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons reports that between 2010 and 2012, 26% of human trafficking victims in East Asia, South Asia and the Pacific were subjected to sexual exploitation.

There are several aspects of Nvader's work. Nvader works to rescue victims of sex trafficking, prosecute offenders, and "empower local communities and churches to effectively combat sex trafficking themselves." There is also a branch that focuses on the organised crime aspect of human trafficking.

Nvader's team plan and carry out undercover tactical investigations into brothels in order to rescue the slaves that are there. They go undercover with recording devices and surveillance cameras to record transactions and gather other evidence, and talk to those who work in the brothel. The victims are then taken to aftercare organisations, such as Hagar or Nightlight.

Nvader also works to help prosecute the people who commit human trafficking offences. Evidence gathered during their investigations is used to prosecute brothel owners and others involved in human trafficking-related crimes, such as "'being part of trafficking' and 'knowingly running and profiting from an illegal brothel.'"

Nvader also trains law enforcement, community leaders and government officials in the countries they carry out investigations, to combat sex trafficking. Nvader reports that they have trained 1125 people from these groups since April 2015.

Partners

Nvader collaborates with other organisations such as The Family Connection Foundation, and The A21 Campaign, ZOE, Hagar, and Nightlight. Nvader has other partnerships with "local and international law enforcement agencies, aftercare and rehabilitation centres, economic and community development programmes, businesses and multinationals, embassies and consulates, churches and human rights groups" however they must keep the details of these groups confidential in order to protect those they work with. In 2014 Nvader became an official partner of TEAR Fund. This partnership allows Nvader to focus on and continue their investigative work, while TEAR Fund campaigns and raises funds for Nvader.

Successes

In 2013 Nvader rescued 37 victims of trafficking and was involved in the prosecutions of 12 traffickers. By February 2014, Nvader had rescued 22 more women and children. From January to March 2016, Nvader helped with 35 successful prosecutions of offenders. Nvader's first rescue of a male victim occurred in February 2016. In 2014, Walker said to a Waikato Times reporter that Nvader's goal is to rescue 200,000 sex trafficking victims by 2024.