What is Don't Trade Lives?
Don’t Trade Lives is an advocacy campaign to unite Australians against human trafficking and slavery. Don’t Trade Lives examines the issue of labour exploitation in the contexts of Asia and West Africa and looks at how our purchasing behaviour relates to these issues.
Trafficking and slavery is about the buying and selling of people for exploitative labour. It is the third-biggest transnational, organised crime in the world, behind drugs and arms. It has been estimated that trafficking has enslaved 27 million people, in countries all over the world.
Labour trafficking and slavery in Asia
Asia is a point of origin, transit, as well as a destination point for trafficking in persons. Victims have been found in domestic servitude, agricultural work, garment manufacture, the fishing industry, construction, as well as sex work. Increasing numbers of men and boys are being noted.
Story: Not in our neighbourhood!
Cocoa harvesting in West Africa
Criminal networks traffick children across regions and international borders to work on cocoa farms in West Africa. Hundreds of thousands of children working in cocoa fields are subjected to the worst forms of child labour. Major chocolate manufacturers and exporters have known about the problem for at least 10 years and bear much responsibility for tackling the issue.
Story: What is the real cost of chocolate?
Ethical Consumerism
The products we buy and use in Australia can affect people in other countries. Sometimes the workers producing these goods receive low pay or must work in dangerous conditions. Sometimes they are child labourers or have been trafficked. Don’t Trade Lives seeks to reduce the market within Australia for products produced through exploited labour.
Story: Ethical Consumerism: What's behind the label?
Who does Don't Trade Lives help?
Victims of human trafficking and slavery All trafficked people live in slave-like conditions. The terms “human trafficking” and “slavery” have slightly different technical meanings, but at Don’t Trade Lives we address these issues together.
The victims of trafficking end up in horrendous situations. Many are trafficked into bonded labour and forced to work as virtual slaves to pay off a family debt. They may work on farms, in mines and factories, or as domestic workers in private homes.
What is it?
Don’t Trade Lives is an advocacy campaign uniting Australians against human trafficking and slavery. It is estimated that trafficking has enslaved 27 million people, in countries all over the world.
Quick facts
| Location | Asia and West Africa |
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| Related Issues | Human Trafficking & Slavery |
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| Focus | - Human trafficking
- Slavery
- Child labour
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| Activity | - Encourage Australians to take action to combat human trafficking and slavery
- Advocate for the Australian Government to ensure an integrated anti-trafficking policy environment in the Asia Pacific region
- Advocate for the global chocolate industry to eliminate exploited labour from cocoa production by 2018.
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| Get Involved | |
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| Supporter Benefits | - Be part of a movement to end human trafficking and slavery
- Regular Action News online newsletter
- Learn how the choices you make can change the world - for good
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What will you receive?
When you join the Don't Trade Lives campaign, you'll discover how your voice and actions can change the lives of the world’s poorest people. Action News Online, World Vision’s advocacy enewsletter, gives you the latest updates on our campaigns, practical advocacy tips, film and book reviews, and petitions that send your message direct to Australia’s decision-makers.
Join Don't Trade Lives, and know that your actions are helping to end human trafficking and slavery around the world..