Diversity of the modern slavery environment
Collaboration can strengthen the effectiveness of Australia’s response to modern slavery. Where there is collaboration between different parties – such as government agencies, businesses, NGOs and academia – knowledge and expertise can be shared to create a more effective response.
We can all play a role in building partnerships.
How we work together
It is important that all sectors are aware of how their work might integrate with and complement the work of other key stakeholders in the modern slavery sector.
"The collaboration of individuals and various sectors, including first and foremost individuals at risk of or experiencing modern slavery, government agencies, private businesses, NGOs, and academic institutions, can significantly improve the way we address human trafficking and modern slavery. By sharing knowledge about risk factors and warning signs, all partners can contribute to a more effective response. Joint efforts can facilitate early detection and intervention, reinforcing collective measures for the identification, prevention, protection, and legal pursuit of human trafficking and modern slavery, ultimately driving towards the common goal of eradication.
Individuals and diverse sectors can contribute their unique expertise, perspectives, and resources to address the risks, response and prevention of human trafficking and modern slavery in Australia’s whole-of-community response. Working together also creates stronger partnerships, improves the quality and accessibility of services for individuals who have experienced modern slavery, boosts the efforts to prevent and deter trafficking, and develops long-lasting solutions that are inclusive and sustainable. Working directly with individuals who have experienced modern slavery supports this view on the importance of collaborations and partnerships. Equally important is significantly increasing the number of individuals who have experienced modern slavery [who can] safely and directly contribute to guidance on risk mitigation strategies and how sectors can work effectively and appropriately with individuals experiencing or at risk of modern slavery."
– International Organization for Migration
Benefits of working together
As detailed at Figure 1, different sectors contribute their expertise, perspectives and resources to Australia’s response. By sharing knowledge about risk factors and warning signs/indicators, we can enhance our response to modern slavery. This enables:
- timely identification of emerging issues
- appropriate and timely action
- strengthening of collective efforts
- building of connected, safe, effective, person-centred, and strengths-based support and protection.
An example of such a partnership is the collaboration between Government agencies and NGOs who have a shared goal of identifying, preventing and protecting individuals from modern slavery. People who have experienced modern slavery often express how difficult it can be to find the right avenues for support – this can be further exacerbated when individuals and organisations are not working together.
Figure 1: Sectors working together to respond to modern slavery
People who have experienced modern slavery
- Provide lived expertise for policy and program development, including advocacy, awareness and implementation efforts.
- Provide peer support for other people with lived experience.
Independent / Statutory office holders and commission
Engage with and promote engagement with people who have experienced modern slavery to inform measures for addressing modern slavery, and engage with people who have experienced modern slavery to inform and support the performance of their functions. For example the Australian Anti-Slavery Commissioners’ role includes supporting and engaging with people with lived experience.
Government
- Set direction of Australia’s domestic and international response to modern slavery, guided by strategic priorities: prevent; disrupt, investigate and prosecute; support and protect; partner; and, research.
- Formulate, implement, evaluate and update policies, legislation and programs.
- Fund support services, awareness-raising and outreach.
Healthcare
- Provide medical and psychological care, and offer rehabilitation services - a key point in identifying people who have experienced modern slavery
Education and academia
- Key part of frontline response.
- Play an important role in identifying and supporting people who have experienced modern slavery, as well as contributing towards the development of evidence-based responses to modern slavery in Australia.
Law enforcement and legal sector
- Investigate cases, enforce laws, prosecute offences, protect people who have experienced modern slavery, and improve access to justice and remedies.
- Offer legal services, advocacy and support for rights protection.
Regional and international organisations
- Develop regional and/or global policies; provide funding and technical support; adopt and advocate for good practice, where appropriate; and facilitate cross-border cooperation, including working with Australian-based organisations, Government and business to further develop good practice and an evidence-based approach.
NGOs, service providers, unions
- Advocate for change; identify issues of humanitarian concern; deliver support services; and raise awareness about modern slavery, including through policy and advocacy.
- Engage with business and government to share expertise and enhance accountability.
Faith-based organisations
- Provide spiritual support, advocacy and awareness-raising and community integration services for people with lived experience.
Community-based organisations
- Offer support, build networks, raise awareness and engage in grassroots prevention efforts.
Business / Industry / Investors
- Understand, prevent and respond to modern slavery risk in operations and supply chains.
- Improve processes and policies drawing on lived expertise, to incorporate a human rights-based approach with the responsibility to respect and provide remediation, which may include reintegration.
Case study 1: Partnerships to offer support
Effective partnerships in responding to cases of modern slavery
Aisha, a 17-year-old female Malaysian national, left the sex work industry in Malaysia to engage in sex work in Australia for higher pay. Her visa application was supported by her travelling companion. She arrived in Australia with a valid passport and a visitor visa. Upon meeting her recruiters in Australia, her passport was held by her employer, and she was underpaid for her work. She was unaware her visa did not permit her to work in Australia, or that she was considered a minor and that she might be identified as an individual experiencing trafficking.
After several months, employees at Aisha’s hotel [business] noticed changes in her behaviour, such as returning late, looking unhappy and being less sociable. Aisha opened up to Kate, a hotel employee. Kate was able to identify signs of trafficking due to training she had received from a specialist support organisation [NGO]. With Kate’s support, Aisha approached the AFP [law enforcement].
The AFP engaged with Aisha for several months, developing trust and providing education, so that she was able to make an informed decision to assist the AFP with a criminal investigation. Her main wish was to return home. Additionally, Aisha was referred to the Support for Trafficked People Program [service provider] for support (for example, safe accommodation, financial support and specialised casework).
Thanks to this intervention, Aisha was able to safely return home to Malaysia. Furthermore, Aisha has been connected with anti-trafficking network organisations for ongoing support and protection in Malaysia.
This case study has been provided by an intergovernmental organisation working to respond to modern slavery.
Case study 2: Effective partnerships in frontline response
Effective partnerships in responding to cases of modern slavery
A middle-aged woman presented to a hospital’s emergency department after a GP referred her for specialist admission due to sudden onset visual changes.
Patient notes stated that she spoke minimal English and, instead of using interpreters, the staff used a female ‘friend’ of the patient to interpret. After being diagnosed with a complex medical condition, the patient required a further admission and rehab stay. During this time, social workers at the hospital identified that she was homeless after fleeing family violence, and noted that a marriage had been planned overseas by a ‘matchmaker’. The patient was very anxious and had a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder. Social workers noted indicators of modern slavery.
The patient was then discharged to homelessness accommodation. There, the social workers from the hospital reached out to the staff at the homelessness accommodation regarding concerns about possible indicators of forced marriage and domestic and sexual servitude. One of the hospital staff was able to attend to the patient with an interpreter and, after finding multiple indicators, offered further support and referrals to specialist modern slavery supports. An immediate safety plan, including a safe phone, was provided to the woman, and she was < referred, with her consent, to the AFP, with a subsequent referral to the Support for Trafficked People Program. Through the partnership between the hospital and the AFP, the patient was able to be comprehensively supported around her housing, legal, financial, medical, disability and visa needs. The patient shared through the interpreter: ‘thank you for hearing me, and helping me heal, I could not have done so alone as I was scared – but you helped me.’
This case study has been provided by a frontline organisation working to respond to modern slavery.
Case study 3: Partnerships to strengthen identification
Partnerships to strengthen identification of those at risk of modern slavery
A financial institution in Australia established its Modern Slavery Advisory Council (MSAC) in 2023, as part of its focus on strengthening its approach to accessing and addressing modern slavery risks in its business operations and supply chains. The MSAC helped guide the strategic direction of the organisation’s FY24–26 Modern Slavery Strategy (Modern Slavery Strategy), which includes a focus on providing structured training to relevant frontline teams on the indicators of modern slavery.
The organisation recognised that partnering with an established specialist NGO on this training would provide an opportunity to gain insights from people who had experienced modern slavery in Australia. As a first step, the organisation and the NGO developed appropriate themes for the consultation, which included the degree of trust people who have experienced modern slavery have in financial institutions and the role they can play in identifying, supporting and responding to situations that may involve exploitation.
Questions were developed by the NGO to explore survivors’ interactions with the financial sector, review generally-cited indicators of modern slavery to understand their accuracy in real-life situations, and discuss what pathways are appropriate for frontline teams in financial institutions to consider if indicators of modern slavery are identified.
The NGO facilitated all interviews in alignment with trauma-informed care principles and in protection of participants’ privacy. Participants were informed at the outset that they were providing insights to a financial institution and the information would support strengthening the training of the organisation’s relevant frontline teams. The NGO’s caseworkers also offered guidance on modern slavery risk indicators and engaging with survivors in a trauma-informed way.
Insights from the interviews, along with broader insights from the NGO’s experience in working with people who have experienced modern slavery, were presented to the MSAC to further consider how the voice and expertise of lived experience could be incorporated in line with the Modern Slavery Strategy. The training program and response guidelines were updated to reflect lived experience and include practical examples for the financial institution’s frontline staff on identifying indicators of modern slavery and safe response strategies.
This case study has been provided by a financial institution working to respond to modern slavery.
The Australian Anti-Slavery Commissioner’s role is to further strengthen Australia’s efforts to address modern slavery as an independent statutory office holder to Australia’s comprehensive response.
The Commissioner also provides national leadership in raising awareness of modern slavery risks and an independent mechanism for victims and survivors, business, and civil society to engage on issues and strategies to address modern slavery.
The Australian Anti-Slavery Commissioner’s key areas of work in addressing modern slavery include:
- education and awareness raising
- supporting and engaging with people with lived experience of modern slavery
- supporting Australian businesses to address risks of modern slavery in their operations and supply chains
- advocacy and research.
More information can be found on the Australian Anti-Slavery Commissioner’s website
Cooperation and professional conduct
To provide trauma-informed support and care for people who have experienced modern slavery, it is important to care for ourselves and our colleagues.
Work in the modern slavery sector is intense and complex, and can demand a lot from individuals and organisations working to identify, support or engage with people experiencing modern slavery. A lived experience workforce is also likely to be growing, and is of great value to the sector. Fostering a strong sense of collegiality ensures individuals and organisations can provide appropriate support to people who have experienced modern slavery and protect themselves from burnout and vicarious trauma, you can learn more about this in Pheonix Australia's Vicarious Trauma course.
To create sustainable workplaces and mitigate risk of staff burnout and vicarious trauma, we need to create:
- spaces where staff are able to voice concerns (refer to 'Grievance mechanisms' on the Practice Area 2 page), share good practice, and seek advice on managing complex cases and developing nuanced responses
- support systems and pathways that are readily accessible to protect the mental health and wellbeing of staff.
- This could include providing psychological support through clinical supervision and counselling, facilitating peer support networks, providing training on trauma-informed approaches and vicarious trauma, and continually assessing and updating organisational policies and procedures to ensure the organisation is responding in a trauma-informed way.
What is vicarious trauma?
Vicarious trauma refers to indirect exposure to other people’s trauma, including through repeated exposure to written or visual details of traumatic events, that has the same harmful effect on our mental health as experiencing trauma directly (Phoenix Australia, 2024).
Three key components of managing vicarious trauma include: practising self-awareness, prioritising self-care and seeking mental health support.
You can find more information about the signs of vicarious trauma and suggested coping mechanisms on the additional and useful resources page.
Noting that this can often be a difficult space, it is important we treat our colleagues with respect and in the same way that we would expect to treat people who have experienced modern slavery.
In this sector, exposure to the trauma of others is frequent, and the pressures and risks involved in providing support can be high. To mitigate the impacts of vicarious trauma, it is important to:
- observe the cornerstone principles of trauma-informed care
- avoid judgement
- extend empathy and understanding to our colleagues and partners within the sector.
Uplifting our colleagues with encouragement and appreciation supports their capacity for resilience.
Peer support for individuals and organisations
Ensuring that trauma-informed and lived-experience centred approaches are at the forefront of our engagements requires vulnerability, compassion and humanity from individuals and organisations. Peer support programs can be an important tool to support staff when engaging with people who have experienced modern slavery. It is particularly useful with helping to manage vicarious trauma and normalise human reactions of vulnerability, fear of not knowing what to do and overwhelm from learning new skills. This in turn assists with finding new pathways for support and validates and centres lived experiences through a heightened sense of humanity.
These support mechanisms could be useful for:
- connecting individuals to advocates and other networks that can provide support
- assisting in referring staff to support programs outside of one’s organisation
- supporting capacity-building across the modern slavery sector providing multi-dimensional support
- creating feedback mechanisms and platforms to discuss strategies for improvement
- supporting regular reviews of processes and practices.
Developing peer support mechanisms can create a safe, creative and compassionate environment that values individuals and staff as people first, encourages reflective practice and supports continuous improvement.
Peer support is a vital component of providing support to people who have experienced modern slavery and is explored further in the peer support for people who have experienced modern slavery section of the Guidelines.
"The risk of vicarious trauma and burnout in this work is high. The specialised skills required for this work are hard won, and we need to work on compassionate care of ourselves to sustain the workforce. None of us can do this work alone, because we are so much better together, in partnership and collaboration."
– Modern Slavery Grant Project team, St Vincent’s Health Australia