In the spirit of celebrating International Women’s Day for 2021, on March 18 the empowered team of women working for Unchained gave us a webinar addressing their passion for modern slavery and women’s rights.
Each of them shared their own lived experiences. Some of these women talked about surviving their own lack of freedom at one stage, while others discussed meeting and helping rescue people who have been trafficked. The issue of modern slavery is complex, and not one to be diminished in any way. Therefore, this webinar encourages Australians and consumers of any products (all of us), to be actively thinking of ways to help raise awareness of modern slavery and be consciously thinking about the role we each play in the development and supply of what we buy.
Three key takeaways from this Webinar:
EDUCATION: Educating everyone about the issue of women’s rights and how these rights are affected and disregarded through modern slavery is so important. The problem doesn’t have to be so huge and intimidating, but many people see modern slavery as an issue that is too far gone to stop. Often, there is a lack of passion about the eradication of modern slavery because there is limited knowledge about both what it is, and how we can solve it. In short, everyone should be able to find a reason to be passionate about women’s rights and modern slavery and everyone can be educated about the problem
AUSTRALIAN PROBLEM: Along with education, it’s important to know that modern slavery exists right here in Australia. It isn’t limited to being an issue in underdeveloped, far away countries. There is a mindset for many people suggesting that since slavery is “far away”, it isn’t their problem. However, modern slavery exists in many Australian business sectors, including beauty parlours, mining and construction sites, and garment brands. If modern slavery, affecting the lives of millions of women and children in other countries isn’t enough to spark passion in someone, then the problem being in their own backyard should fire them up.
PRACTICAL IMPLICATION: Everybody can do something which works towards eradicating modern slavery and empowering women in today’s globalised economy. Instead of being overwhelmed by the problem and feeling too small to be able to solve it, it’s important to have a fresh perspective of doing something with what you already have. This could include gaining or sharing real-life experiences, meeting people and sharing their trafficking stories, or using existing skills to help people or businesses solve this complex issue.
