Forced Marriage in the UK

January – December 2012 Statistics The UK Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) has released statistics for 2012.  The report indicates the FMU gave advice or support related to a possible forced marriage in 1485 cases.  The age range of victims was from 71  down to 2 years of age. Read more here or for more information about Forced…

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International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

“End Modern-Day Slavery and Servitude” The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, 2 December, marks the date in 1949 of the adoption, by the General Assembly, of the United Nations Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others. The focus of this day is…

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Married as Compensation at Age 5!

Child Brides in Pakistan In Pakistan children as young as five are being forcibly married off as compensation for family and tribal disputes.  The custom known as ‘swara” is illegal but there were 180 reported cases in 2012 with many more cases remaining undetected.  The Sydney Morning Herald recently reported, “According to tradition, the compensation…

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Annual Report of Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons

Demand as a Factor in Fostering Exploitation and Trafficking of Persons The UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons especially women and children has presented her annual report to the United Nations Human Rights Council.  “Demands for sexual exploitation, for cheap labour and domestic workers, for organ removal and sale, for illicit adoption and forced…

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Australian Senate Passes Slavery Bill

Forced Labour, Forced Marriage and Organ Trafficking Now Criminal Offences ACRATH has received with great joy the news that the Australian Senate today passed the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Slavery, Slavery-like Conditions and People Trafficking) Bill 2012.  ACRATH took part in the consultations that led to the drafting of this Bill and along with other NGOS such…

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Forced Marriage & Labour Trafficking in Australia

ACRATH National Conference 2013 In Randwick on 19 February Catholic Religious and colleagues heard case studies of young Australian women forced into marriage in their parents’ home countries. They heard that new Australian legislation will criminalise forced marriage and empower the young women threatened with forced marriage. Speaking on this topic was Associate Professor of…

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Fifth National Roundtable on People Trafficking

ACRATH Delegates at National Roundatable ACRATH members, Christine Carolan and Margaret Ng, attended the fifth National Roundtable on People Trafficking.  Attorney General, Nicola Roxon, convenor of the Roundtable, announced that there will be a revision of Australia’s national action plan to combat trafficking, slavery and slavery-like practices, such as forced marriage.  Consultation with stakeholders will…

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Anti-Trafficking Newsletter

Anti-Human Trafficking Newsletter Vol 10 No 9 The latest issue of Stop Trafficking features efforts on the part of some of the ‘Stop Trafficking’ co-sponsor groups to address human trafficking.  This includes an article about the work of the Good Shepherd of Australia and New Zealand.  They recently released a report  Hidden Exploitation: Women in…

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ACRATH Supports Proposed Slavery Legislation Amendments

Christine Carolan Speaks on Proposed Legislation Christine Carolan is the national projects coordinator of the Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans(ACRATH).  She recently spoke with Katherine Spackman from ACL (Australian Christian Lobby) about new laws introduced by Attorney-General Nicola Roxon aimed at combating slavery-like practices including forced marriage and forced labour.  

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Slavery, Slavery-like Conditions and People Trafficking Legislation

Crimes Legislation Amendment On Wednesday 30th May 2012 the Federal Attorney General introduced into the Australian Parliament new legislation that criminalises forced marriage, forced labour and organ trafficking. In presenting the bill the Hon Nicola Roxon MP commented “A common factor of contemporary slavery and trafficking—from forced labour and forced marriage to organ trafficking—is the misuse…

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Mountain Wolf

Roseanne Hawke Supports Children Whose Lives Have Been Traded Written by Roseanne Hawke, Mountain Wolf is the fictitious story of Razaq Khan who lives in the Pakistani tribal area of Kala Dhaka,BlackMountain. When an earthquake ravishes his family home, his dying father tells him to go to his uncle Javaid in Rawalpindi.  A man preying on…

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Hidden Exploitation

Women in Forced Labour, Marriage and Migration Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand commissioned Anti-Slavery Australia in partnership with the Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning at the University of Technology, Sydney, to prepare an evidence based review in relation to labour rights for women and girls in Australia. The report examines emerging areas of concern and…

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