A First for Australia’s Health Care Sector

Australia’s leading anti-human trafficking group and a major health and aged care provider have joined forces in a groundbreaking effort to change the way hospitals treat trafficked people and how to ‘slavery proof’ the goods and services they use.

ACRATH (Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans) and St Vincent’s Health Australia (SVHA) have launched the Human Trafficking Project, thought to be a first in Australia’s health care sector.

The project will look at how trafficked people – who may present at any of SVHA’s hospitals Australia-wide – can be identified and receive necessary treatment, support, referrals and access to services. This includes women who have been sexually exploited, people facing forced marriage and people who have experienced forced labour.

The project will also look at how to make sure the goods and services procured by St Vincent’s are slavery-free. This means investigating supply chains to make sure a diverse range of goods – everything from medical equipment through to cotton sheets and gowns, and chocolates sold for hospital fundraising – have been produced without the use of enslaved or forced labour.

According to the Trafficking in Persons – Australian Government Response 2015-2016 report, the Australian Federal Police received 691 referrals relating to human trafficking and slavery-related offences between 2004 and 30 June 2016. Read more…

ACRATH Members Meet Commissioner Hyland

The Australian Freedom Network recently hosted an afternoon at Parliament House in Sydney with Kevin Hyland, the UK Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner.

ACRATH members in Sydney were delighted to be present to hear of the UK experience since the enactment in 2015 of the Modern Slavery Act. Currently in Australia the Commonwealth Government is conducting an inquiry into whether Australia should have a Modern Slavery Act. Submission to this inquiry can be accessed here.

Commitment from Archbishop Anthony Fisher

The Archbishop of Sydney, Bishop Anthony Fisher OP, appeared before a NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into Human Trafficking and Slavery in NSW in March. During his evidence he committed the Archdiocese of Sydney to slavery proofing its supply chains and urged the NSW Government to do the same. Since making this commitment Archbishop Fisher has set up a Anti-Slavery Task Fore. Find out more…

Sr Margaret Ng rsj is the current NSW Coordinator of ACRATH. In this clip she is interviewed about her anti-trafficking work.

ILO Monitoring in the Cotton Industry in Uzbekistan

For a number of years ACRATH and other NGOs have been speaking out about child labour in the cotton industry in Uzbekistan. In a report released in February 2017 the International Labour Organization (ILO) indicated that organized child labor is now socially unacceptable in Uzbekistan and the practice has been phased out.

ILO monitored the implementation of government commitments and measures against child and forced labor in Uzbekistan and reported that “no incidences of child and forced labor were identified with regard to World Bank-supported agriculture, water, and education projects.” However, forced labor remains a risk for some categories of people, including students, staff of educational and medical facilities and government employees.  The monitoring concluded, among other things, that further steps are required to remove the risks of forced adult labor, and noted that the existence of such risks has been recognized by the Government of Uzbekistan. The Government continues to make policy improvements aimed at reducing risks of undesirable labor practices. Read more…

Dignity Health – Shared Learnings Manual

A 2017 survey report from the Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking (CAST) found that over half of labor and sex trafficking survivors surveyed had accessed health care at least once while being trafficked. Nearly 97% indicated they had never been provided with information or resources about human trafficking while visiting the health care provider. These studies underscore the reality that medical care providers are often unprepared to identify and appropriately respond to trafficked persons.

Dignity Health, the fifth largest health system in the United States, has taken a stand to change this reality by creating the Human Trafficking Response (HTR) Program. The  Program has been developed to ensure that trafficked persons are identified in the health care setting and are assisted with victim-centered, trauma-informed care and services. The HTR Program Manual  shares HTR Program learnings with Dignity Health associates and with other health care systems seeking to implement a similar program. Download the Manual.

Global Sisters Report

Global Sisters Report is an independent, non-profit source of news and information about Catholic sisters and the critical issues facing the people they serve. ACRATH President, Sr Noelene Simmons, was recently interviewed about ACRATH’s efforts to raise awareness about human trafficking, to work against this heinous crime and their advocacy on behalf of people who have been trafficked into Australia . The Q & A can be accessed here.

2017 One Heart Many Voices Catholic Mission Conference

Marietta Latonio is a social worker who lives and works in Cebu, Philippines and is a long time friend of ACRATH. She attended the 2017 One Heart Many Voices Catholic Mission Conference in Sydney recently to speak on behalf of women in Cebu who have been trafficked into sexual exploitation so that the plight of these women  may be better understood.

A Book About Forced Marriage in Australia

‘Promising Azra’, by the Australian writer, Helen Thurloe, was published in 2016.  It is a novel which centres around the life of a sixteen year old student, who because of recent academic success is given a place in a nationwide science competition.  Little does she know that as she prepares for the competition, other members of her family are planning a marriage for her.   This is a timely book, since it is set in Australia, and highlights forced marriage against a background of the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Slavery, Slavery?like Conditions and People Trafficking) Act 2013.  The story illustrates the importance of young people, in particular, having informed understanding of the laws against forced marriage in Australia, and knowing their rights. The book, targeted at young adults,  would be an asset in all school libraries .

Exchanging Knowledge, Building Relationships

ACRATH joined three other Australian organisations for a forced marriage fact finding mission and information exchange to Jakarta recently. A focus of the two-day event was how to reduce child and forced marriage in Indonesia and Australia. Participants also explored many of the cultural and religious practices driving forced marriage.

The April event organised by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Indonesia comprised a Seminar and Field Trip – Exchanging Knowledge, Building Relationships: Indonesian and Australian Perspectives on Reducing Child and Forced Marriage.

ACRATH’s forced marriage worker, Liz Payne, joined representatives from the Attorney-General’s Department -Transnational Crime Branch, Anti-Slavery Australia and Red Cross for the seminar at the Australian Ambassador’s residence.

“Indonesian Law states that the practice of child/forced marriage can no longer take place and Australia’s legislation of 2013 outlawed this practice, but it is still happening and in large numbers in Indonesia. The seminar was an opportunity for Indonesia and Australia to share best practice in prevention and to examine ways forward,” Liz said.