Slavery is happening all around and people might not even know it. An estimate of around 20 million people are in slavery; that is 45.8 percent of the population. Slavery is happening in 167 different countries, which is 87 percent of all the nations. Now, people are taking action to raise awareness and joining the fight against slavery.

February 23 was national “Shine a light on slavery” day. Millions of people wore red Xs on their hands to raise awareness to slavery. The red X is a symbol to show “END IT.” Going on five years, people from all around the world wear red Xs on their hands as a symbol. The END IT movement does this to bring awareness and take action against slavery. The goal of the movement is to bring awareness, prevention, rescue and restoration.

Many celebrities like Carrie Underwood, Ashton Kutcher, David Crowder and more support the END IT movement by wearing the red Xs on their hands and posting to social media with the hashtag #ENDITMOVEMENT. Like these celebrities, politicians and famous athletes are also taking part. Also, lots of people in different communities are doing their part in spreading awareness. Different organizations and schools have held events to help get the word out. With millions of people contributing to the END IT movement, the red X symbol has been shared over 500 million times. Over $4 million has been raised and 66 global projects have been started.

To find out more information, how to get involved and more statistics on modern-day slavery, check out END IT movement’s website ENDITmovement.com. Follow END IT movement on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @ENDITMOVEMENT.