Advocates for ending modern forms of slavery met at the University of Notre Dame Australia (UNDA) recently to share their perspectives on the challenges and work already being done here and overseas.
Visiting Sydney as part of the university’s distinguished lecture series was Professor of Law at the Catholic University of America Mary Graw Leary, who shared a historical perspective on the problem often hidden in plain view today.
She was joined by Australia’s Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay who outlined local efforts and called on the Federal Government to act on recommendations of the McMillan Review tabled in May 2023 to strengthen Australia’s Modern Slavery Act 2018.
The event was hosted by the outgoing National Head, School of Law and Business Professor Michael Quinlan and fell just days after Federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus announced the appointment of Australia’s first national Anti-Slavery Commissioner, Chris Evans, a move warmly welcomed by Finlay.
Speaking to The Catholic Weekly following the event at the Broadway campus on 13 November, Leary said despite the willingness of many nations to pass anti-slavery laws, the most recent Global Report on Trafficking in Persons showed there were less than 20,000 prosecutions in the last year.
“We’re at the point in the movement where we’re really going to find out if we’re serious about ending modern slavery or is it just a movement that will be a blip in human history,” Leary said.
“I think everyone agrees that we’re at the point where it’s going to hurt everyone to test our resolve on whether or not we’re serious about not cooperating with slavery—companies will lose profits to get rid of forced labour, consumers will have to pay higher prices, and governments are going to have to give survivors of forced labour and sex trafficking the services that they need.”
On the night, Finlay thanked Quinlan and staff at UNDA for introducing world-leading specialised programs on modern slavery and human trafficking.
“They have also led by example by taking proactive steps to address the university’s own modern slavery risks through its involvement in the Australian Catholic Anti-Slavery Network (ACAN),” she said.
Both speakers stressed the importance of a survivor-centred approach to fighting modern forms of slavery such as sex-trafficking, forced marriage, and exploitative labour practices.
Present was Executive Manager and ACAN Program Manager Jenny Stanger, who took the opportunity of time for open discussion to explain the modern slavery risk management program is the largest anti-slavery collaboration in Australia and unique in the world.
“ACAN is a powerful response to Pope Francis’ call for an economy of care supported by Archbishop Anthony Fisher and the Sydney Archdiocese,” Stanger told The Catholic Weekly afterwards.
“ACAN is taking action right here, right now and that is what matters to people in modern slavery and people at-risk.”