Slavery (Contemporary Issue)

Question 1

What is Human trafficking

Answer 1

Commercial trade of human beings for purpose of some form of slavery

Question 2

How are people forced into slavery

Answer 2

By way of human trafficking

Question 3

Forms of contemporary slavery

Answer 3

• Forced Slavery
• Prison labour
• Debt Bondage
• Forced Marriage
• Child labour
• Sex Slavery

Question 4

R v Wei tang details

Answer 4

• First jury conviction under the slavery provisions of the Commonwealth Criminal Code.
• Brothel owner Wei Tang purchased five women in Thailand to work in a licensed brothel and who were required to repay a debt of $45,000 each by working six days a week over 7-8 months. Passports were withheld and from them.
• Wei Tang was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment
• The High Court upheld original conviction

Question 5

Time line Modern slavery in Australia

Answer 5

• Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth)
• 2003 Aus Anti trafficking strategy
• 2005 ratified the UN protocol to prevent strategy
• 2005 Criminal Code Amendment (Trafficking in Person Offences) Act 2005 (Cth) fulfil obligations in UN protocol
• 2008 fed govt introduced new measures under anti trafficking strategy
• 2008 R V Wei Tang (Appeal) (2008)
• 2013 Crimes Legislation Amendment (Slavery, Slavery-like Conditions and People Trafficking) Act 2013.
• 2018 Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) introduced in response to increased slavery complaints

Question 6

What does Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) do

Answer 6

Compel large companies to report annually on their efforts to safeguard supply chains from slavery and to make details available to the public.

Question 7

What limits the effectiveness of Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth)

Answer 7

• Evidence of exploitation is hard to detect due to the supply chain of the suppliers
• The reporting threshold for companies may be too high (only large companies with yearly turnovers of $100m)
• Also no penalties for non-compliance
• No independent watchdog

Question 8

How will complaints be investigated under Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth)

Answer 8

Anti Slavery commissioner

Question 9

Change of Slavery over time

Answer 9

• 17th-19th century Transatlantic Slave Trade
• 19th century slavery abolished
• Current (21st century) Slavery continues in other forms

Question 10

What is slavery

Answer 10

A type of forced labour where a person is considered to be the legal property of another.

Question 11

How are most people forced into slavery

Answer 11

By way of human trafficking

Question 12

What are main Intl legal responses to slavery and HT

Answer 12

• All countries have Anti-Slavery laws
• Slavery Convention 1926
• UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons 2003
• China banned export of prison made products (however many Chinese companies have been established to do this, Govt has been unwilling to comply with Intl laws as well as their own) NPR 2014 ‘Made in China – but was it made in a prison’

Question 13

What did Slavery Convention 1926 do

Answer 13

Abolished slavery and was expanded in 1956 to include debt bondage, forced marriage and child slavery under the definition of slavery

Question 14

What did UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons 2000 do

Answer 14

Promoted greater global awareness and allowed greater cross-border cooperation to limit human trafficking however not all states have signed, SS (limit effectiveness)

Question 15

What did Modern Slavery Act 2015 do

Answer 15

Makes it mandatory for large companies to audit their supply chains and to make findings public

Question 16

What are the main factors that limit the effectiveness of Intl legal responses

Answer 16

• State sovereignty (SS)
• Absence of the rule of law
• Lack of political will to enforce law
• Resource availability
• Embedded cultural practices
• Lack of enforceability

Question 17

What is forced labour

Answer 17

Work which a person has not voluntarily submitted to and is performed under threat of a penalty or harm

Question 18

Example of forced labour

Answer 18

• Victims might include workers in factories, mining and agriculture and construction.
• ‘Revealed: Qatar’s World Cup slaves’ The Guardian 26/9/13 reveal Nepalese migrant workers dying every day building the World Cup stadium in Qatar

Question 19

What is debt bondage

Answer 19

A situation where a person is forced to repay a loan with labour instead of money and where the proper value of labour is not applied towards repayment.

Question 20

What is sexual slavery

Answer 20

• Repeated violation or sexual abuse or forcing of a victim to provide sexual services
• Regularly takes the form of forced prostitution or forced labour where sexual abuse is also common

Question 21

What is forced marriage

Answer 21

When families cannot support their children, daughters are often married off to the males of wealthier, more powerful families

Question 22

What are main slavery destination countries

Answer 22

• US
• Canada
• Europe
• Saudi Arabia
• Australia
• India
• China

Question 23

What are the main origin countries for slavery

Answer 23

• Russia
• Eastern European countries
• Western Africa
• South America

Question 24

What are main non-legal responses to HT and Slavery

Answer 24

• Minderoo foundation
• Adra
• Media

Question 25

What is role of Minderoo/Walk Free foundation

Answer 25

• Global Slavery index (Quantified modern slavery in 2016 at 45 million)
• Campaign for change (lobby)
• Lobby govt to pass legislation against importing goods tainted with slave labour
• Lobby’s businesses to examine their supply chains to ensure they are not ‘slave tainted’
• Help to liberate people (grassroots level to educate people and build strong instituions)

Question 26

What has been role of Media in regards to slavery

Answer 26

• Informs public about companies that use slave labour
• Educates public on issues of slavery, Al Jazeera 2011 ‘Slavery a 21^st century evil’
• Pressures govt to pass legislation to ban slavery

Question 27

What does ADRA/keep girls safe do

Answer 27

• Prevention approach and aims to keep girls at risk of being sex trafficked safe

Question 28

What are potential future directions for slavery enforcement

Answer 28

• Possibility to invoke R2P to help developing nations build strong economies
• Sustainable Development Goals seek to end poverty and improve education
• Media awareness lead to further consumer boycotts
• Possibility for Modern Slavery Act to be expanded to include smaller companies and fines

Question 29

How has lack of enforceability been highlighted

Answer 29

• Modern Slavery Act in the UK has been criticised as there are no fines associated with a supply chain tainted with slave labour à although due to principle of CSR businesses may face drop in sales (financial repercussions) if findings are made public.

Question 30

What’s an example of an embedded cultural practice

Answer 30

• Practices such as the ‘dowry’ system (money/goods that brides family gives to groom’s family as a ‘payment’ for marriage) and the tendency to abort female foetuses due to expensive dowries resulting in imbalance of males over females in India à led to market for brides.

Question 31

How has Intl law promoted and protected HR in Australia

Answer 31

• Played key role in promotion and protection of HR in Australia
• Exemplified through issue of HT and slavery, which is a continual challenge faced by the global community and is an example of severe HR violations
• Intl law has played important role in combatting this as seen though UN protocol to prevent, suppress and punish HT in person’s especially women and children (2003)
• This has encouraged increased cross border cooperation and has prompted Australia to implement HT laws
• Shown through implementation of the Commonwealth Criminal Code Amendment (HT and slavery) 2005
• Which implemented provisions outlined in the UN protocol
• The effectiveness of this act has been evident through prosecutions regarding HT and Slavery
• Most notably R v Wei Tang 2008 which resulted in a brothel owner found to have been using sex slaves sentenced to prison.