More than 200 years ago a major shift took place within the British Empire – slavery was abolished. Regrettably, human trafficking and slavery remains the third largest illegal industry in the world today.

Sunday 20 November was Abolitionist Sunday. Christians around Australia followed the example set by Christian abolitionists throughout history, and pledged to help bring an end to slavery.

The Church has an important role to play in acting against this injustice. Human trafficking and slavery preys on vulnerable people and exploits them for what they can produce and the profit they can create – their intrinsic value as children of God is forgotten.

Thank you for your help in ending this horrible trade and for supporting World Vision’s Don’t Trade Lives campaign which continues to educate Australians about human trafficking and slavery.

So what’s next?

The Christmas season is the perfect opportunity to continue sharing the message of how our everyday choices can help to combat exploitation.

Unfortunately, we sometimes contribute to this exploitation by purchasing products in Australia that have been produced by workers who have not been paid, or are forced to work in dangerous conditions. In some cases, these workers are child labourers and people who have been trafficked.

The Don’t Trade Lives campaign is asking people to consider their gift and party choices in the coming months, and ask “What’s in your stocking?”

This Christmas, all Australians can help reduce the demand for exploitative labour by:

• choosing to buy ethical goods as much as possible
• encouraging shops and businesses to stock ethically certified products, and 
• sharing your knowledge with family, friends and your church community by purchasing them ethical products as presents

The resources on our What’s in your stocking? web page will help you do this. We also ask that you continue to pray for those experiencing exploitation around the globe this Christmas.

By changing our daily choices and minimising demand for exploited labour, we can focus attention on this injustice. We can also help change the way society values people and better reflect the principles of God’s Kingdom.

Click here to find out more about “What’s in your stocking?”