- published: 27 Oct 2015
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International Justice Mission (IJM) is an evangelical Christian human rights organization with a focus on laws and law enforcement.
IJM states that its mission is to combat violence including sex trafficking, forced labor slavery, illegal property grabbing, police abuse of power, child sexual assault, and citizenship rights abuse. The bulk of IJM’s work focuses on sex trafficking. The organization’s participation in high profile raids of brothels and close coordination with third world police agencies have engendered criticism over its mission and tactics.
IJM has 18 field offices in Africa, Latin America, and South and Southeast Asia and a headquarters in Washington, DC. IJM states it employs 600+ full-time staff globally. Only practicing Christians may work for IJM. Workdays at all offices begin with a half hour of stillness and a half hour of corporate prayer later in the day as part of their spiritual formation practices.
IJM was founded in 1997 by lawyer Gary Haugen, who remains its current president and CEO. IJM cites the Bible verse Isaiah 1:17 as one of their core commitments.