Girls as Young as 14 Forced to Marry Overseas

Girls as young as 14 are being forced to go overseas to marry older men and have their children according to a recent newspaper report.  These young women are often told by their parents they are going on a holiday but upon arriving at their destination they discover a different reality.  The Daily Telegraph reports that the NSW Minister for Women, Pru Goward, “has ordered an investigation into cases of forced marriage following a rising number of complaints being reported to school counsellors and community leaders.”  One student, fearful her parents intended marrying her off to an older man, has been placed on an airport watchlist after pleading with her school counsellor for help.  Read more…

(Photograph:  Education poster distributed by British Forced Marriage Unit)

Britain’s Home Secretary Aims to Toughen Legislation

Britain’s home secretary, Theresa May, aims to toughen legislation and counter ‘shockingly low’ prosecution rates for human trafficking.  May, writing in the Sunday Times, said she wanted the new National Crime Agency and all English and Welsh police forces to make the issue a top priority.

“It is scarcely believable that there is slavery in Britain, yet the harsh reality is that in 2013 there are people in this country forced to exist in appalling conditions and often against their will,” she wrote. (Photograph: Chris Ison/PA)   Read more…

Research Paper

Many Australians would be shocked to know that human trafficking and slavery is taking place in their cities and communities. This research looks at human trafficking in the context of Australia, as a destination country for victims of human trafficking and demonstrates the extent to which it is occurring in Australian states and territories.  This report was undertaken by Madelaine Curnow for Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans as part of a student work placement with La Trobe University in 2012.

Read more…