Modern slavery links to us in ways we may not even realise. It is behind everyday purchases like our clothing, food and smart phones. That link gives us power. Together we can do #SomethingForSlavery.

With 40 million people around the world and 4,300 victims of modern slavery in Australia, Project Didi Australia is kicking off a #SomethingForSlavery Challenge this March 2018. Get the knowledge and tools you need to drive positive change in your community.

Sarah Bartram, Project Didi’s co-founder, says:

We hope by building a #SomethingForSlavery movement we’ll all learn more about, and become advocates for, the hands, minds and lives behind our purchases. As consumers we have an opportunity to use our voices, our questions and our spending habits to demand transparency, living wages and fair working conditions from the brands we buy from.”

How can you do #SomethingForSlavery?

Ask the right questions and make conscious choices about your everyday purchases.

For example:

• Ask your favourite brand if they pay their workers a fair wage
• Eat ethical chocolate this Easter
• Buy coffee from cafes that support survivors of human trafficking in Australia
• Take photos of your hotel room to fight sex trafficking
• Ask local member what they’re doing about modern slavery in your community

Take the challenge!

Sign up to receive weekly challenges to your inbox.

Last week, kicked off with ethical fashion challenges from Good On You and Fashion Revolution.

Get started this week (Week 2) with food challenges on coffee, seafood and chocolate by Stop the Traffik.

Still to come this month are travel & politics challenges!

So what are you waiting for?

Get aware. Get angry. Get active.

Help raise awareness and build a movement against modern slavery. Share with your friends “I am doing #SomethingForSlavery.”

Take the challenge

Visit Project Didi Australia to join BucketOrange Magazine and many other Australian organisations and empowered individuals who are taking on the #SomethingForSlavery challenge.

More on BucketOrange Magazine

• Smart Ways To Holiday Responsibly And Help Fight Human Trafficking
• New Modern Slavery: Australia Leading Fight Against Orphanage Tourism
• Australia First Country Formally Recognising Connection Between Child Trafficking, Orphanage Tourism & Modern Slavery

Project Didi Australia is hosting a panel discussion at The Freedom Hub in Sydney’s Waterloo to share bold ideas and drive change to stop modern slavery.

With estimates that 40 million people around the world are victims of some form of modern slavery, including sex trafficking, debt bondage or forced labour, this is an important human rights issue that needs to be addressed.

It’s timely for us to be holding this conversation on modern slavery now with the recent announcement by our government to legislate a Modern Slavery Act for Australia by the end of the year and the launch of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Smart Volunteer Campaign just this week. Modern slavery, more than other global crises, links to us in ways we do not realise. It is behind our everyday purchases: our clothing, our food and our phones. That link actually gives us power and that’s what you’ll gain from next week’s panel event – an understanding of that power and how to exercise it for change. The change is in our hands.”

About the event

A panel of changemakers will lead action inspiring conversation about human trafficking and share practical advice on responsible travel, ethical shopping and awareness of slavery issues.

Who’s speaking?

• Gordon Renouf, CEO and Co-Founder of ethical fashion app Good On You
• Laura McManus, business and human rights practitioner and part of the Fashion Revolution Australia movement
• Andrea Nave, CEO of Forget Me Not Australia and advocate to end volunteering in orphanages
• Chris Crewther MP, Federal Member for Dunkley and Chair of the Inquiry into a Modern Slavery Act in Australia

When is it being held?

How to attend?

In its final sitting week of 2017, the Federal Parliament did us proud.

Of course, the main achievement was legalising same-sex marriage before the year’s end. But the Parliamentary Committee charged with conducting the Inquiry into establishing a Modern Slavery Act in Australia (the Inquiry) also handed down its final report, which has been widely commended for its innovative and ambitious recommendations.

Background

The Inquiry commenced in mid-February 2017 with a pretty demanding mandate. Its Terms of Reference ranged from investigating the nature and extent of modern slavery, both in Australia and globally, to considering international best practice in addressing the problem.

The Committee released its interim report in mid-August, indicating its intent to recommend the introduction of a Modern Slavery Act (the Act) in Australia inspired by similar legislation in the UK. It provided specific support for two aspects of the UK Act: mandatory supply chain reporting and the establishment of an Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner. In the interim report, the Committee also committed to the consideration of including provisions in the Act relating to orphanage tourism, victim support and Australia’s visa regime.

Even before the release of the interim report, the Government agreed to introduce a supply chain reporting requirement and released a consultation paper seeking comment on a proposed model.

Final report

The final report is both a credit to the Committee members and a testament to the quality of submissions and witnesses who appeared before the Inquiry. Titled Hidden in Plain Sight, the final report provides a detailed and accurate picture of the occurrence of modern slavery in Australia and overseas and how it might best be addressed.

Hidden in Plain Sight is separated into nine sections, each focusing on a different aspect of modern slavery.

The first chapter provides background on the Inquiry, including the initiatives that have already been implemented in Australia to combat modern slavery and an outline of the report’s contents.

The second chapter considers whether there is a need for a Modern Slavery Act in Australia. While many of the provisions of the UK Act are already part of Australia’s legislative framework for addressing modern slavery, the Committee identified several gaps in our approach. It also noted the potential benefit of consolidating Australia’s legislation into a single ‘Modern Slavery Act’ in raising awareness of the issue. Ultimately, the Committee recommended introducing mandatory supply chain reporting and the establishment of an Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner to bring Australia in line with requirements in the UK. It also made several suggestions for building on the UK Act, including improving support for and protection of survivors of modern slavery.

The third chapter summarises the available data and evidence of the prevalence of modern slavery both overseas and in Australia. The report acknowledges that due to the lack of an agreed definition of ‘modern slavery’ there are significant challenges in measuring its prevalence. However, the Committee maintains that Australia should continue its international leadership role – particularly in the Asia Pacific where estimates indicate that modern slavery is most prevalent – and dedicate more resources to support the Australian Institute of Criminology to develop an enhanced research and monitoring program.

The report then outlines in chapter four in detail the role of the proposed Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner including the scope of the Commissioner’s powers, level of independence, and its interaction with pre-existing bodies of a similar nature, such as the Attorney-General’s Department and the Ambassador for People Smuggling and Human Trafficking.

The fifth chapter considers the practicalities of introducing a modern slavery reporting requirement for supply chains. Businesses would be required to report annually on the prevalence of modern slavery in their supply chains and a publicly accessible repository of reports would be established. It ultimately recommends that such a requirement be introduced, with a revenue threshold of $50 million and penalties for those who fail to report (applying to the second year of reporting onwards).

The sixth chapter calls for a more victim-centred approach to combating modern slavery. In the past, victim support and protection have been contingent on a victim participating in police investigations and criminal prosecutions. The report makes the laudable recommendation of de-linking access to the Support for Trafficked People Program and the Human Trafficking Visa Framework (including the Bridging F visa and Referred Stay (Permanent) visa) from compliance with criminal investigations. It also recommends extending the period of support for both the Bridging F visa and the Support for Trafficked People Program from 45 to 90 days, with the option of multiple extensions.

Even more encouragingly, the Committee recommends introducing a defence for victims of modern slavery who are compelled to commit a crime during the period in which they are exploited. It also suggests a national victim compensation scheme should be implemented where, at present, the available compensation varies among the states and territories. If the recommendations are implemented by the Government, victims will also have the right to sue those responsible.

In relation to criminal justice responses to incidences of modern slavery, the Committee recommends in chapter 7 a more coordinated approach be adopted. The report also recommends specialised modern slavery training for law enforcement and staff of frontline agencies including Medicare.

Orphanage trafficking breakthrough

The report then addresses in chapter 8 concerns related to orphanage trafficking.

Through the publication of this report, Australia is the first country to formally recognise the connection between orphanage trafficking and modern slavery.

It makes extensive recommendations, including the establishment of a national awareness campaign, the prioritisation of aid and funding to community-based initiatives and family preservation, and introducing minimum ‘external conduct standards’ for organisations operating overseas.

The most innovative recommendation is around introducing a register of overseas institutions that meet these standards. The report then recommends that penalties eventually be imposed on individuals, businesses, organisations and other entities that continue to support unregistered orphanages (by funding ‘orphanage tourism’ visits and/or establishing, funding, or donating to them) after the two year transition period.

Finally, in chapter 9 the report recommends an in-depth review of Australia’s visa framework for migrants to replace or eliminate ‘tied’ visa conditions which often make such migrants vulnerable to exploitation and modern slavery. This recommendation was made in the light of several high profile cases of labour exploitation involving backpackers and working holiday visa holders in the horticultural industry in regional Australia.

Conclusion

While the report is highly comprehensive and represents a strong commitment across the political spectrum towards eliminating modern slavery, more work needs to be done to ensure that the private sector plays its role in complying with the recommendations and actively re-thinking how they can identify and limit modern slavery in the course of business activities.

Hopefully, urgent implementation of the Committee’s report will be at the forefront of the Government’s mind as we head into the first sitting week of 2018.

More on BucketOrange Magazine

• Human Trafficking Training For Flight Attendants Unlikely As Government Sticks Head In Sand
• New Modern Slavery: Australia Leading Fight Against Orphanage Tourism
• Find Another Way To Feel Better About Yourself ‘Do-Gooder’: The Narcissism Of Voluntourism

Almost a year ago, BucketOrange Magazine published on the dark side of voluntourism. In particular, child traffickers who essentially manufacture orphans by visiting vulnerable communities and convincing parents to give up their children on the promise of an education and better living standards. Traffickers sell these children to ‘orphanages’ and change their identities by falsifying documents meaning that families are no longer able to locate their children. Many charities and NGOs refer to such children as ‘paper orphans’ as they are not genuine orphans.

The demand for volunteering experiences from Western countries in recent years has fuelled a boom in orphanage tourism globally.

According to Unicef, Australia is among the top financial supporters of such orphanages in many South-East Asian countries.

Orphanage tourism, or voluntourism, is big business. According to ReThink Orphanages, in the last
10 years, the volunteer tourism industry has blown up and is now worth a whopping $173 billion globally. Over 8 million children around the world, who have at least one living relative, are living in orphanages.

Orphanage tourism has been described as a new form of modern slavery. Leigh Matthews, founder of ReThink Orphanages says that one of the main drivers behind the explosive growth of orphanages is an increased demand from Westerners who seek volunteering opportunities rather than an increase in the number of orphans.

Of course, tourists and volunteers are unaware that they are actually doing more harm than good by visiting these orphanages which is why public education, awareness and strong leadership by government is urgently required to help put an end to this insidious problem.

Fight against orphanage tourism gains traction

In recent months, the campaign to end orphanage tourism has gained much-needed momentum. Yesterday, Projects Abroad, one of the biggest voluntourism companies in the world, announced that it is severing ties with all overseas orphanages.

In September this year, World Challenge, an organisation dedicated to sending high school students to volunteer overseas pledged that it would end its association with orphanages.

The reality is that Australia has played a prominent role in fuelling the rapid increase in paper orphans for many years with 14% of all Australian schools and more than 50% of Australian universities sending student volunteers and fund-raising efforts to support overseas orphanages.

Education Minister Simon Birmingham says:

It disgusts me that well-meaning students seeking to help vulnerable children overseas might be unwittingly signed up for scam volunteer programs and orphanage tourism that risks further child exploitation.”

In an effort to address the issue, Simon Birmingham has asked the Education Department to work with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on a range of policies to be discussed at the next COAG Education Council in December this year.

Introduction of a Modern Slavery Act in Australia

Orphanage tourism has garnered media attention recently after several submissions to the Inquiry into establishing a Modern Slavery Act in Australia addressed the problem and a number of prominent figures have called for urgent action.

West Australian senator Linda Reynolds is pushing for orphanage tourism to become an internationally recognised form of modern slavery.

Submissions to the Inquiry from Cambodian Children’s Trust, Forget Me Not, ReThink Orphanages, and Hagar International recently prompted a day of hearings dedicated to orphanage tourism.

Tara Winkler, co-founder and Managing Director of the Cambodian Children’s Trust, gave evidence about an orphanage director lining his pockets with donations from well-meaning visitors and overseas donations, as well as physically and sexually abusing the children in his care. While this director profited, children suffered from such gross neglect that they were forced to catch mice to feed themselves.

A parliamentary submission by Kate van Doore, Secretary of Forget Me Not and a law and human trafficking expert at Griffith University, describes children who are deliberately kept malnourished in an effort to facilitate donations from foreigners:

The orphanage was receiving approximately USD$6000 per child per year from foreign donors with no efforts made to reunify the children with their biological families,” says Kate van Doore.

Often orphanages are utilised by paedophiles posing as volunteers and visitors to access vulnerable children,” says Kate van Doore.

The global orphanage crisis is not fuelled by an increase in poverty or the number of orphaned children – both of which are in decline in Cambodia and in many of the other developing countries where sham orphanages are rife – but by overseas donations. Such donations from international organisations, universities and schools support traffickers and the proliferation of orphanage tourism.

What is the government likely to do about it?

It seems the Government has finally got wind of the issue, largely thanks to the efforts of Senator Linda Reynolds who has been advocating for the rights of paper orphans since last year.

There is now strong support among Committee members to ban Australians from visiting orphanages overseas as an immediate priority, ahead of a proposed Modern Slavery Act, which could take another 12 months to implement.

The committee is penning a letter to the Attorney-General, the Hon. George Brandis QC, and the Minister for Justice, the Hon. Michael Keenan, recommending an immediate ban on Australia’s involvement in orphanage tourism. Exactly what constitutes ‘involvement’ is yet to be established. It could refer to funding orphanages, to visiting them, or both. Exactly how the proposed ban will operate in practice is also unclear.

It is possible that the Committee is now considering the implementation of a more transitional model, such as that advocated by Kate van Doore. Along with other experts, she has cautioned against immediately cutting off support to overseas orphanages from Australian schools and universities, instead urging them to ask the right questions, such as whether the orphanage has a reintegration program, before they support an orphanage.

It is also important that such support and resources are redirected to aid agencies and non-government organisations actively working towards locating the biological families of trafficked children and reintegrating them with their communities. An increased focus on supporting vulnerable communities and keeping children within those communities is also critical.

What more should be done?

Legally acknowledging the connection between modern slavery, child trafficking and orphanage tourism as well as raising community awareness about the importance of selecting legitimate volunteer programs are vital first steps.

Part of the solution requires Australians to be informed travellers and to find legitimate ways to volunteer overseas, namely by supporting community-based programs and working with organisations that locate and reunite paper orphans with their families. These include Australian charities such as the Cambodian Children’s Trust, Forget Me Not, and the Born to Belong Foundation.

An important protective measure should be to require Australian volunteers to obtain a Working With Vulnerable People card before departure.

On a global scale, due to of our particular responsibility for contributing to the problem, Australia should also be pursuing a vigorous strategy to bring pressure on relevant foreign governments that have permitted sham orphanages to operate. By withholding foreign aid, we can take immediate steps to ensure that this destructive practice is stamped out.

There is also a real need for more targeted legislation that acknowledges the severity of the harm inflicted on children by this exploitative form of modern slavery. An amendment to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child that specifically deals with orphanage tourism is one possible approach.

Where we find ourselves 

Orphanage tourism is not yet formally acknowledged as a form of human trafficking but thanks to consistent lobbying by a few key experts, we are well on our way to leading the charge for change in this arena.

It is not often that Australia finds itself a world leader in something that has the potential to make a profoundly positive change by taking strong action to end the abuse of vulnerable children and prevent thousands of others from reaching the clutches of child traffickers.

Through legislation, awareness and public education, we have a real opportunity here to set the standard on the international stage and to spearhead a movement that contributes to ending modern slavery in our lifetime.

Let’s hope the Committee provides further, in-depth consideration of this issue in their final report and recommendations.

More on BucketOrange Magazine

Find Another Way To Feel Better About Yourself ‘Do-Gooder’: The Narcissism Of Voluntourism

Further Information

• Think Child Safe
• Smartraveller
• Better Care Network
• Australian Council For International Development
• Australian Volunteers International – provides opportunities for skilled Australians to contribute to the Australian Government’s aid program.
• United Nations Volunteers – (UNV Program)
• ReThink Orphanages – a group of non-governmental organisations that campaign to end the exploitative trade of children. They advise anyone considering volunteering overseas to research carefully before deciding to support assistance programs and orphanages.
• Forget Me Not – an international NGO originally established to fund best-practice orphanages. It has since changed its focus to finding and returning paper orphans to their families. Forget Me Not also assists children to reintegrate with their community.
• Cambodia Childen’s Trust – focused on reuniting paper orphans with their families and communities.
• Next Generation Nepal – reunites orphanage-trafficked children with their families.

Help us to educate the public about the far-reaching and destructive impact of supporting orphanage tourism by sharing this story with your friends! 

The Global Slavery Index estimates that 45.8 million people worldwide are subjected to modern slavery practices with 4,500 people currently trapped in some form of exploitation in Australia. Slavery includes human trafficking, debt bondage, and forced labour.

Accordin to The Hon Michael Keenan MP:

These are grave violations of human rights and serious crimes with devastating impacts. They have no place in our community or in the supply chains of our goods and services.”

The proposed reporting requirement will require large corporations and other entities (with an annual turnover of at least $100 million) operating in Australia to publish annual Modern Slavery Statements outlining their actions to address modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. The Statements will be published on company websites and in a publicly accessible central repository.

At this stage, however, punitive penalties for non-compliance are not being proposed. This means that public accountability and criticism is the only measure that will be used to ensure companies are not complicit in modern slavery practices.

How effective this approach will be remains to be seen.

Further Information

The deadline for submissions is 20 October 2017 and can be found on the Attorney-General’s Department website.

Former President, Barack Obama, has said on the subject:

It ought to concern every person, because it’s a debasement of our common humanity.

It ought to concern every community, because it tears at the social fabric.

It ought to concern every business, because it distorts markets.

It ought to concern every nation, because it endangers public health and fuels violence and organised crime.

I’m talking about the injustice, the outrage, of human trafficking, which must be called by its true name—modern slavery.” 

It is a global affront to human rights and its eradication remains an ongoing challenge.

What is human trafficking?

Human trafficking is recognised as an international crime, defined under international law to encompass the forced use of persons for exploitation.

According to Article 3 of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, human trafficking is:

the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.”

Sexual exploitation is the most documented form of abuse, followed closely by forced labour, forced marriage, organ removal, warfare and domestic service.

Global Slavery Index reports that 161 countries are responding to the issue of modern slavery. Of those 161 countries, 124 countries criminalised human trafficking in line with the UN Trafficking Protocol, however, convictions are reportedly low. In 2011, of 7206 prosecutions for trafficking, only 4239 resulted in convictions, while 41,210 victims were identified.

Who does modern slavery impact?

Anyone can be a victim of modern slavery.

Statistics show that there are 27-36 million victims in modern slavery at any given time.

68% are victims of forced labour exploitation, in economic activities such as agriculture, construction, domestic work or manufacturing. 22% are victims of sexual slavery. Of this statistic, 21% or are children.
The remaining 10% of individuals are in state-imposed forms of forced labour.

The majority of victims are female, making up 55% of all trafficked victims globally, with trafficking of children on the rise (approximately 20%, although this statistic increases in some regions).

How does modern slavery occur?

There are a number of factors that make persons vulnerable to human trafficking and modern slavery. Often things like the absence of protection and respect for basic rights, physical safety and security and access to basic necessities such as food, water and health care. Other factors such as displacement and conflict play a role.

Victims are often recruited through false advertising for what appears to be genuine employment, such as in cleaning, waitressing or farming.

Where is human trafficking most prevalent?

Human trafficking occurs all over the world and has been documented in 167 countries.

The crime is often carried out by traffickers who are of the same nationality as the victim, which accounts for why statistics show the trade is usually limited to a national or regional context.

By proportion to population, the countries with the highest estimated prevalence of victims of modern slavery are:

• Bangladesh
• Cambodia
• China
• India
• North Korea
• Pakistan
• Qatar
• Uzbekistan

Human trafficking also occurs in popular travel destinations throughout Europe – including England – and North America.

Unsurprisingly, countries with the lowest estimated incidence of modern slavery by the proportion of their population are:

• Luxembourg
• Ireland
• Norway
• Denmark
• Switzerland
• Austria
• Sweden
• Belgium
• United States
• Canada
• Australia
• New Zealand

Many factors contribute to the low incidence of human trafficking in these countries, including greater economic wealth, higher government response, low levels of conflict, political stability as well as a commitment to protecting basic human rights and fighting modern slavery.

The unexpected difference you can make while travelling

As global citizens, we not only have a responsibility to ourselves but also to other humans.

We all have the power, however small, to make choices that contribute to the promotion and protection of basic rights and that make a positive and lasting change and that can transform lives.

If you know where to look, there are countless ways that you can be a more informed, responsible and ethical traveller. Making small, seemingly insignificant, choices (like choosing one travel company over another) can make a difference at a grassroots level in the fight against human trafficking. Here are a few of our favourites ways you can help:

1. Research your accommodation and tour operators

Tour operators or hotels often have policies on human trafficking, which are included on their website.

The Code (of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism) is an industry-driven initiative designed to prevent sex trafficking of children worldwide through education, awareness, tools and support.

Commercial sexual exploitation of children under 18 years (which includes child sex tourism, child sex trafficking, the prostitution of children, and child pornography) involves children being bought and sold for sexual purposes. It’s a crime that often occurs in hotels, which is why responsible tourism companies are encouraged to voluntarily become members and implement the Code’s principles to help fight exploitation of children.

You can search the full list of companies who have already joined the Code and choose to stay at and support hotels, hostels or other travel industry service providers who are committed to keeping children safe.

If your tour operator does not openly communicate its position on child sexual exploitation, why not suggest that they take a stand and demonstrate their corporate social responsibility by becoming a member of the Code?

2. Take photos of your hotel room

Traffickcam is an app that allows users to upload photos of their hotel room while travelling.

No matter where you travel, this is a simple, easy and positive step you can take to actively make a difference in the fight against human trafficking. The app works by helping authorities identify the locations in which sex trafficking crimes occur as victims are often positioned and photographed on the beds of hotel rooms.

All you have to do is upload 4 pictures of your hotel room, enter your hotel and room number and hit ‘submit.’ The app works because sex traffickers post online ‘advertisements’ of victims posing on beds in hotel rooms. By taking images of your room, and contributing to a database of over 1.5 million images of hotels snapped from around the world, you can help investigators to match the inside of hotel rooms with images taken of victims of sex trafficking. This helps law enforcement locate sex trafficking rings, save victims and prosecute offenders.

3. Identify a victim

Sometimes victims of slavery are held away from the public, however, in many situations victims are hidden in plain sight. They may work frontline in restaurants, on farms, at hotels, at construction sites, and in beauty salons. There is a good chance that you have already come face-to-face with a victim of modern slavery without realising it.

Being informed, being observant, staying aware of your surrounding as well as some of the common indicators of modern slavery may mean that you can help to identify a victim of trafficking.

General signs may include situations where a person is:

• Living with their employer in poor conditions
• Paid very little
• Submissive or fearful of their employer (or their interactions with others are tightly controlled)
• Speaking in a way that seems scripted or rehearsed
• Without any travel documents or their employer holds their travel documents (for example at the airport or in other transport hubs)
• Dressed inappropriately
• Appears to be under-aged, or
• Showing signs of abuse.

There may also be over-the-top security or guards on site.

If several of the above warning signs are present, and if you are able to speak with the person you suspect is a victim of trafficking without putting yourself, or the suspected victim in any danger, the US Department of State recommends discreetly asking the following questions:

• Can you leave your job if you want to?
• Can you come and go as you please?
• Have you been hurt or threatened if you tried to leave?
• Has your family been threatened?
• Do you live with your employer?
• Where do you sleep and eat?
• Are you in debt to your employer?
• Do you have your passport/identification? Who has it?

The most important thing is to avoid endangering anybody, including yourself, by doing something reckless like confronting the suspected trafficker or raising your suspicions aloud at the time.

Instead, follow your instincts and report your concerns to local law enforcement (if reliable) or to a global or local NGO which is known to combat trafficking in the area. If the victim is foreign, you can also contact their embassy (contact details below).

4. Be a conscious and safe traveller

On your next overseas trip, you can volunteer your time or donate to local charities that are working towards the eradication of modern slavery.

While it is important, wherever possible, to play a part in helping to fight the proliferation of human trafficking by being conscious of your surroundings and reporting suspicious behaviour, it is equally important to be mindful of your personal safety while travelling.

The reality is that anyone can become prey to a human trafficker, so avoid taking unnecessary risks, placing yourself in dangerous situations, travelling to particular regions alone.

If you can, try to travel in groups and make sure that you leave a copy of your current itinerary (as well as your local phone number) with family and friends. Check the travel advisories associated with your destination countries before travelling and register with Smart Traveller.

A difference to be made closer to home?

On a day-to-day basis, we might consider the impact of human trafficking in Australia.

Have you ever stopped to think about who produces the clothes you wear and where the food you eat comes from?

Further Information

To report a suspected case of human trafficking or offer authorities a tip while overseas, contact:

• European National Human Trafficking Hotlines
• Abolishion Hotlines Listed Alphabetically by Country
• National Human Trafficking Hotline
• US Domestic Trafficking Hotlines

To report a suspected local case of human trafficking in Australia contact:

• Australian Federal Police (AFP) by filling out an online form; or
• Call 131 AFP (131237); or
• Email AOCC-Client-Liaison@afp.gov.au

To access free legal services if you, or someone you know, has experienced trafficking or slavery in Australia contact:

• Anti-Slavery Australia

Further Reading

• For comprehensive reports on human trafficking by region and country visit the Global Slavery Index.
• For a look at the Australian context visit Freedom Partnership
• To watch an awareness-raising video from Crimestoppers UK visit Read the Signs
• For an extensive journalistic investigation into human trafficking visit Lydia Cacho’s Slavery Inc
• For a documentary on sex trafficking and abuse recommended by United States State Department. visit Price of Sex.
• For a comprehensive look at preventing and addressing forced marriage in Australia visit My Blue Sky
• To download the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) global report on trafficking in persons click here.

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