Every child deserves someone willing to stand up for them.
Global Youth Guardians fights human trafficking, child slavery, and forced marriage by funding and connecting the people already capable of stopping them.
Why we exist
Knowing this is happening creates a responsibility to act.
Around the world, children are bought, sold, trafficked, enslaved, abused, starved, and forced into marriages — placed in circumstances no child should ever have to endure.
These problems are enormous. They are not impossible to fight. Global Youth Guardians exists to bring together the people, resources, expertise, advocacy, and trusted organizations capable of protecting children and disrupting the systems that exploit them.
Every child deserves freedom, safety, dignity, health, and the opportunity to grow up.
What we do
Prevention
Educating communities, teachers, families, children, and professionals about trafficking, the warning signs, the methods traffickers use, and how to seek help safely.
Intervention
Funding and equipping the people qualified to act — child-protection specialists, investigators, attorneys, doctors, therapists, law enforcement partners, and safe-housing organizations.
Systemic change
Supporting the laws, institutions, and policies that reduce the conditions allowing children to be exploited in the first place.
What we are not
We do not go into countries and take children.
Global Youth Guardians is not a rescue team. We do not conduct operations, and we do not remove children from their families or communities.
What we do is fund, convene, and strengthen the organizations, professionals, and authorities who can lawfully act — and hold them to a standard of vetting that protects the children they serve.
We will not pretend this problem is simple. We will not pretend one organization can solve it alone.
The founder
This did not begin as an idea.
It began in a displaced-persons camp in Kenya, with two children who each took one of Dr. George Gauthier's hands — and a moment when he had to let go.
What we are building first
A trusted place to act
Establish Global Youth Guardians as a credible home for people who want to protect children — to contribute, participate, share information, and support meaningful work.
A professional protection network
Build relationships with child-protection organizations, investigators, attorneys, law enforcement at every level, NGOs, governments, safe-housing providers, medical professionals, and survivor-support organizations. Rather than operating alone, we work to strengthen the legitimate systems that identify trafficking, disrupt exploitation, and help survivors reach safety.
A worldwide awareness movement
Use social media, film, television, education, advocacy, and partnerships to help people recognize trafficking and exploitation — including the recognized distress signals a person in danger can use to silently ask for help. We also support international efforts to protect children from forced and underage marriage, including work toward a minimum marriage age of 18.
Stand up & join us.
Advocates. Professionals. Governments. Law enforcement. Organizations. Donors. Media. Communities. Heroes and ordinary people who have decided that children should not have to fight these battles alone.