Stand with Victim/Survivors

Fundraising

Will you stand with us and the victim/survivors of human trafficking who need our help? Donate today

ACRATH is working tirelessly to bring an end to modern slavery and there has never been a more important time to double our efforts. With your support so much has been achieved and these gains, after years of advocacy, give hope to victim/survivors of human trafficking.

The 2023 Global Slavery Index estimates that there are 41,000 men and women living in modern slavery in Australia.  There are 50 million people living in slavery globally, millions of them are children, deprived of education and safety.

Modern slavery is now more recognised thus a higher number of reports in Australia. The Australian Federal Police received 340 reports over the 2022/23 financial year, an increase of 13% compared to the previous year – 26% were forced marriage, 21% sexual exploitation and almost 13% forced labour.

This year, we need $350,000 and a three-year commitment to strengthen our programs and double our impact. Will you join this fight with us against modern slavery by committing to a donation today? In the past year we:

  • Developed the Educating for Change program, which is being rolled out across Australian universities to equip students and staff with the skills to identify human trafficking and ways to respond to reports or concerns. The program is supported by an advisory committee that includes St Vincent’s Health Australia, Australian Federal Police, and the NSW Anti-Slavery Commissioner’s office.
  • Launched ACRATH’s 16 Days of Activism campaign in Rome with the Australian Ambassador to the Holy See Chiara Porro, focussing on women migrant workers vulnerable to exploitation. The campaign asks people across the globe to focus on the plight of women migrating across the world for work and has been picked up by global organisations supporting migrant workers.
  • Delivered training sessions to leaders at St John of God Health Care (SJGHC) facilities across Australia. The sessions (22 to date) raise awareness of human trafficking and modern slavery and what can be done within the organisation to identify and support trafficked people and to identify slavery in supply chains.
  • Worked with a major national healthcare organisation to enhance training resources to support staff in identifying and supporting victim/survivors of modern slavery. Several victim/survivors have been identified by staff trained by ACRATH.
  • Provided direct support to trafficked women and their children through our supervised and volunteer-based Companionship Program.
  • Held meetings with about 40 senior Members of Parliament, advisors and departmental officers in Canberra during a week of advocacy to discuss four key human trafficking issues.
  • Celebrated 15 years as members of the Federal Government’s National Roundtable on Human Trafficking and Slavery, which was established in 2008 as a mechanism for government to consult with civil society about issues relating to human trafficking. The Modern Slavery Act emerged from Roundtable working group proposals.
  • Worked closely with many Catholic schools who are now leading the way in changing uniform practices and seeking slavery-free supply chains.

The successes of ACRATH and our supporters are many but the goal to eradicate modern slavery is complex and multifaceted across industries, communities, and sectors.  Without secure multi-year funding in these challenging times, we will not be able to deliver the programs needed at scale to bring an end to human trafficking in Australia.

We are asking for a three-year funding commitment because advocating for change takes long-term planning, staff and resources. Read the story about ACRATH’s long term advocacy as told by senior Allens lawyer, Nicky Friedman.

We will never stop working for change. Will you stand with us and the victim/survivors of human trafficking who need our help?

At the heart of ACRATH’s work are the women, men and children who are victim/survivors of human trafficking, those in Australia and globally. Rani is one of the people that your donations have supported.(name and identifiers have been altered to protect the person’s privacy)

Freedom Through Knowledge

Rani, is a 17-year-old student from a high school in Melbourne. When her parents informed her that they were taking her overseas to marry a man she had never met, Rani felt she had no choice but to comply and thought her fate was sealed.

An ACRATH member visited her school and delivered a presentation where Rani learned that forced marriage is illegal in Australia and, that she had the right to choose her own husband. Empowered by this timely information, Rani realised she had an option she never knew existed.

Since 2005, ACRATH’s dedicated members have reached thousands of students across Australia, delivering life-changing presentations on many critical issues related to modern slavery including forced marriage. Armed with knowledge, many young people have been able to act, protect their rights, and shape their own futures.

According to the Government’s Australian Institute of Health and Welfare forced marriage has been the most reported form of modern slavery to the Australian Federal Police in every year since 2015–16. Join us in our mission to eliminate forced marriages and other forms of modern slavery.

If you would like to discuss ACRATH’s work further, please call, and we can connect you with a senior ACRATH staff member.

Leave a Comment