Written by Julia Day
Jess lived in Germany as a ‘diplo-brat’ for several of her teenage years. Here she learnt about the scandals surrounding sweat shops in the clothing industry and bonded labour in the coffee industry. The popular movie ‘Taken’ starring Liam Neilson highlighted the issue of sex slavery in Jess’s mind.
Whilst living in Berlin Jess and her mum Sally, the founder of The Freedom Hub, volunteered at a street café in Berlin. Jess met women who were sold into sex slavery to make money for their abusive husbands. All Jess and Sally could at that stage was make them coffee which seemed fiercely inadequate.
When Jess came back to Australia with her parents the knowledge of the impacts of slavery on modern day society piqued the fiery passion of a young girl who wanted to change the world. At this young age Jess also learnt about the story of William Wilberforce who literally dedicated his life to eradicating slavery. Jess was disgusted that slavery was also a hidden part of modern day Australia.
Slavery in Australia looks different compared to many overseas jurisdictions but it is still a very significant issue. It is estimated there are 15,000 slaves in Australia. Modern day slaves in Australia are often found in industries such as construction, labouring jobs and domestic help.
As Jess got older she tried to work out how best she could help the anti-slavery movement. Even though Jess had chosen Drama rather than Legal Studies at high school she decided to study law anyway. She is days from completing her Masters in Law at UNSW. 
There is certainly more awareness now than there was about modern day slavery. This has led to the recent Modern Slavery Acts which are present at both the state and federal level. Jess notes ‘the NSW legislation is more effective as the threshold for reporting is a $50 million business rather than a $100 million business. Furthermore, the NSW legislation has penalties whereas the Commonwealth legislation does not.’ Anyone who has studied Constitutional Law will understand the implications of having legislation which is contradictory at the state and federal level….S 109 anyone???
Jess noted we all have a slavery footprint in terms of the goods we buy. However everyone can help reduce modern day slavery by doing their best to purchase goods which are produced ethically and morally.
Thank you Jess for your insightful and inspiring message!
