Safe from harm

Some of the UK's most renowned female actors are lending their voices to our Safe from Harm Christmas appeal, by reading the testimonials of four young girls who are survivors of sexual violence. Gemma Chan, Andrea Riseborough, Jane Horrocks, Jaime Winstone and Laura Carmichael star in our powerful new film, to raise awareness of the violence and exploitation faced by girls across the world. 

It starts with a smile and a promise. An offer of help to a struggling mum or show of affection to a neglected child. A golden opportunity to a hardworking girl who wants to free her family from poverty. But behind the human trafficker's apparent kindness is an industry that causes untold misery around the world.

How do you cope with losing a child? It’s a question that no parent should have to answer. When Mehreunnessa’s son was murdered in 2011, she felt her life was over. But the Bangladeshi mum found love and hope again in a place that few people would choose to look. She got a job at Happy Homes, an ActionAid-funded rescue home for street girls in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Every day Mehreunnessa, 52,  helps girls to rebuild their lives. In exchange, they’ve given her a new reason to carry on with hers. Read on to find out how. 

Dangerous and dirty, the streets are no place for a young girl to call home. But that is the reality in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where thousands of homeless children live, work and sleep on the streets - at constant risk of violence, sexual abuse and exploitation. Jesmin, 10, was one of those children, caring for her younger brother while her mother searched for work to support them after her father left. But Jesmin's life was changed for good when ActionAid gave her a place in a Happy Homes centre. Here, Jesmin tells her story.