ACRATH Participates in National Roundtable
ACRATH President & National Executive Officer, Noelene Simmons sm & Christine Carolan, recently participated in the 11th annual meeting of the National Roundtable on Human Trafficking and Slavery. Held in Parliament House Canberra, the event was convened by the Assistant Minister for Customs, Community Safety and Multicultural Affairs, the Hon Jason Wood MP. Also in attendance was the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Women, Senator the Hon Marise Payne, and representatives from government departments and civil society.
During the Roundtable Assistant Minister Wood announced that anyone facing a forced marriage will get now have access to 200 days support through the Support for Trafficked People Program with no requirement that they participate in a criminal justice response. ACRATH welcomes this announcement. In collaboration with other NGOs, ACRATH has been lobbying for many years to break the link between accessing support services and having to be part of a criminal justice investigation.
Further new initiatives to combat modern slavery were announced in a joint media release from Hon Jason Wood MP, Hon Marise Payne MP, Hon Christian Porter MP and Hon Anne Ruston MP. Access a copy of the media release here.