'What Happens Next?': Do We Really Understand the Scope of Modern Slavery?
Carland
Do you know how many slaves support your lifestyle?
The conversation in this episode of Monash University’s podcast, What Happens Next?, hosted by Dr Susan Carland, features three remarkable students involved in the University’s Modern Slavery Law Clinic. The clinic, part of Monash’s Faculty of Law, aims to aid those affected by modern slavery by offering legal assistance, educating students on applying laws in Southeast Asia, and supporting NGOs in the region.
The students – Peggy Sakwa, Phoebe Naylor and Evthoxian Apokis —discuss the extent and impact of modern slavery, highlighting the intricate legal frameworks, victim compensation issues and consumer awareness. They discuss how their awareness of modern slavery evolved, emphasising the realities revealed by their experiences in the clinic and beyond.
Evthoxia believes that while there is some awareness of modern slavery among the average consumer, it can seem like a distant issue, unrelated to our daily lives. At the start of their studies with the clinic, the students participated in a slavery footprint metric that showed just how many slaves were involved in maintaining their day-to-day lifestyles. She said the average was a surprising 40-50 slaves per person in the room. (You can measure your own slavery footprint online.)
Peggy reflects on the students’ research examining the near-absence of legislation protecting victims and the difficulty in defining responsibility for their restoration. She underscores the complexity involved in addressing the issue and the need for comprehensive, dedicated legal frameworks to support victims of modern slavery and human trafficking effectively.
Read more: Unmasking the hidden face of modern slavery
Although the issue can seem overwhelming, Phoebe offers a stunning statistic: The seemingly insurmountable task of eradicating modern slavery across the globe in the next several years would cost about as much money as sending someone to the moon. While $20-30 billion seems like an enormous amount of money at first, in the grand scheme of things, it’s a drop in the bucket –and an achievable goal.
Despite the overwhelming challenges, the conversation ends on a hopeful note. Phoebe mentions a shift in perspective, emphasising the power of collective action and activist thinking, suggesting that change is possible through a unified effort.
“There's those times when you read a case and go, ‘Well, this is a huge issue. How can we possibly do anything about it?’. But there's also a lot of hope in that, actually, we're coming together and there is something that can be done about it.” - Phoebe Naylor
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In this series
About the Authors
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Susan carland
Director, Bachelor of Global Studies, and Lecturer, School of Language, Literature, Cultures and Linguistics
Susan's research and teaching specialties focus on gender, sociology, contemporary Australia, terrorism, and Islam in the modern world. Susan hosted the “Assumptions” series on ABC’s Radio National, and was named one of the 20 Most Influential Australian Female Voices in 2012 by The Age.
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Peggy sakwa
Law Student, Human Rights
Peggy is a 4th year Monash Law student with a strong interest in pursuing Human Rights law and using her degree to help others.
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Annabelle apokis
Law Student, Human Rights
Annabelle is a 5th year Arts/Law student who has majored in Indonesian language. Her involvement int he Modern Slavery Law Clinic has encouraged her to consider employment law after recognising how it can intersect with people experiencing modern slavery.
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Phoebe naylor
Law Student, Human Rights
Phoebe is a 5th year Arts/Law student with an interest in social justice issues. Her work with the MSLC provided an insight into what modern slavery this work looks like in practice.
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