By Hope 103.2Tuesday 5 Feb 2019Social JusticeReading Time: 2 minutes
In Australia, an estimated 15,000 people are now living in modern slavery. That’s more than half of a percent of our population.
Hidden behind closed doors, these are people enduring forced labor, forced marriage, sex trafficking, organ trafficking and more.
These sobering facts and figures come from the 2018 Global Slavery Index.
They’re statistics that would shock most Australians, and rightly so. But the good news is you can make a difference, by getting behind organisations like The Freedom Hub.
Watch: How The Freedom Hub began.
Founded by Sally Irwin, The Freedom Hub is a charity that exists solely to work with the survivors of slavery and human trafficking in Australia, and help restore their damaged lives.
Sally learnt about the realities of modern slavery while living in Europe, and was shocked to learn it was also going on at home in Australia.
“Slavery was abolished in England in 1833, and yet for tens of thousands of people in Australia this is their reality in 2018,” she said.
Above: Sally Irwin, founder of Freedom Hub.
The charity runs a ‘Survivor School’, holding courses to help rehabilitate survivors, who are mostly women, and prepare them for normal life and work again. The school offers training, education, one-to-one mentoring, support in their court cases, and assistance into employment.\
The Freedom Hub also runs two cafes in Waterloo, Sydney, and on the Gold Coast, with 100% of profits going towards the charity’s work – as well as a warehouse venue that they hire out for ethical weddings, engagements and parties.
Above: The Freedom Hub event space is hired for weddings, parties and more.
The Speakeasy Jazz Bar Fundraiser
On Friday, February 15, The Freedom Hub is holding a New York, Jazz-themed fundraiser night, called the “Speakeasy Jazz Bar”, from 6pm to 10:30pm. It’s at The Freedom Hub, 283 Young St, Waterloo.
There’ll be old-style cocktails, a raffle with $1000 in prizes, and jazz, blues and Latin played by the Syd’Side Trio – featuring Stefano Rocco on guitar, Renata Arrivolo on piano and Muhamed Mehmedbasic on double bass.
Tickets are $25 and available online.
For those who want to learn more, on Friday, March 29, the charity is hosting an evening with international human trafficking expert Matt Friedman. Matt has more than 30 years of experience as an activist. He and a panel of other speakers will give valuable insights into the realities of modern day slavery.