Modern slavery - what is our role?
Some may think of slavery as a relic of the past or something that happens ‘over there’. But the horrifying reality is that modern slavery does exist, with millions of people worldwide trafficked, exploited and abused. Exploitation and trafficking happens here in Australia, as well as us consuming goods and services that may be a product of slavery.
At our Women’s Business Charity breakfasts in Melbourne and Sydney over the last couple of weeks, high-profile barrister Fiona McLeod SC (in conversation with our Pro Bono Partner Nathan Kennedy) spoke about the horror of modern slavery and people trafficking, and how prevalent this abuse (especially of women) continues to be across the world.
It was a sobering discussion to have over breakfast but an extremely important and impactful one. There are 40 million victims of slavery worldwide. As Fiona said, these numbers can seem overwhelming - but we should remember that each of these 40 million are individuals who suffer. Fiona shared some examples with us: her client Ning, who was trafficked as a 13-year-old to a brothel in Australia, sent back to her homeland and tragically died from HIV/AIDS; and an Indian man on a 457 visa who slept in a storeroom in the restaurant where he worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week, for less than $1 an hour.
The greatest driver of modern slavery is poverty, and this is leading to people being exploited by other people.
Like most large organisations, my firm Hall & Wilcox will be subject to the obligation under the Modern Slavery Act to review and report on how we are managing our supply chains and organisation to reduce the impact of slavery. It is an obligation that we should and will take seriously, involving a whole-of-business team. The Commonwealth Modern Slavery Act 2018 – Guidance for Reporting Entities is a good place to start if you need advice or assistance. You might also like to read the article by my colleague Alison Baker on what large companies need to do to prepare modern slavery statements.
As individuals, we can also have an awareness of how we can – collectively - drive change. I will follow Fiona’s suggestion and do a slavery footprint audit of our household – using Slavery Footprint or a similar tool.
Our Women’s Business charity breakfasts were hosted with our charity partners Project Respect and Anti-Slavery Australia, who are also doing important work in this area. Project Respect is a support and referral service for women trafficked for sexual exploitation and women in the sex industry. Anti-Slavery Australia, located in the Faculty of Law at the University of Technology Sydney, provides legal advice and assistance to people who have experienced human trafficking, slavery or forced marriage in Australia.