Archives
by Sally Irwin | Apr 14, 2022 | Blog, Ethical Events, Social Impact Report, Waterloo Cafe
Purpose has become more important than ever over the last two years. How has consumer spending changed toward purpose, and what is The Freedom Hub doing to leverage this opportunity. Since the day we opened our first cafe in 2015, The Freedom Hub has been...
by Sally Irwin | Apr 12, 2022 | Blog, Ethical Business
Partner to end Modern Slavery? How has the pandemic made this a huge battle? The third arm of our social purpose is to ‘partner in the fight to end global slavery.’ Partnering is the only way we are going to end this crime. The official...
by Sally Irwin | Apr 11, 2022 | Survivor News
It’s a Rebuild of confidence, lost dreams, and hopes for the future. How Q1 has been a huge challenge for our survivors. Many of us are unsure or not confident about going out or mixing in crowds again, yet we know we must. We know it is vital to socialise and...
by Sally Irwin | Apr 11, 2022 | Blog, Forced Labour, Slavery in Cocoa
Easter Means Chocolate Time! Here’s How to Get Your Spring Fix Ethically Easter is a time of eating chocolate– chocolate eggs, chocolate bunnies. It is something we share with family and friends. There is no denying the happiness we feel when we bite into a piece of...
by Sally Irwin | Apr 3, 2022 | Child Labour, Ethical Business, Forced Labour, Slavery in Cocoa
The chocolate industry makes an estimated $103 billion globally each year. As a result, there are greedy individuals willing to take shortcuts if it means more money in their pockets. Hence, the plague of modern-day slavery and child labour runs rampant in the farming...
by Joan Martin | Mar 20, 2022 | About Modern Slavery, Blog, Ending Modern Slavery, Ethical Business
In a progressive milestone for human rights, for the first time in Australia, thousands of entities have submitted their first modern slavery statement in response to the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth), beginning the significant process of stamping out slavery...
by Joan Martin | Mar 20, 2022 | About Modern Slavery, Blog, Ending Modern Slavery, Ethical Business
The Australian Government has created several action plans and frameworks to combat and prevent the gruelling practices of modern slavery. At the end of 2020, Australia introduced their Fourth Action Plan, a five-year plan to combat modern slavery from 2020 to 2025....
by Joan Martin | Mar 20, 2022 | About Modern Slavery, Blog, Ending Modern Slavery, Ethical Business
The environmental crisis is spurring people worldwide to alter their everyday lives to combat climate change. To fight dwindling natural resources and prevent the environment from suffering further devastation, scientists and engineers have developed ways to create...
by Joan Martin | Feb 23, 2022 | About Modern Slavery, Blog, Ending Modern Slavery, Ethical Business
Modern Slavery Statements are pouring into the Australian register. But are they making an impact on modern slavery? The Issue New insights have just been delivered in an extensive collaborative report by prominent academics and civil society organisations....
by Ebony Stanmore | Dec 6, 2021 | 16Days of Freedom, Blog, Survivor News
Freedom is defined as the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants; a state of not being imprisoned or enslaved. For many of us, the idea of ‘being free’ might evoke thoughts of travelling around the world or dreams of gaining the ability to...
by Sally Irwin | Dec 4, 2021 | 16Days of Freedom, Blog, Forced Labour, Sex Slavery
Slavery is happening in our backyard. It is not a distant concern for developing nations. It is present and prevalent here on Australian shores. Behind the closed doors of many Aussie homes and businesses lies voiceless individuals. They have been tricked or forced...
by Ebony Stanmore | Nov 28, 2021 | About Modern Slavery, Blog, Forced Labour
Last week, we published an article discussing the significance of knowledge and education, emphasising its role in future advocacy and action. Now that we are (sadly) coming to an end in our 16 Days of Freedom series. Where we have introduced and discussed, in detail,...
by Ebony Stanmore | Nov 28, 2021 | 16Days of Freedom, Blog, Slavery in Coffee, Slavery in Fish, Stats and Facts about Modern Slavery
As we march farther and farther into the holiday and Christmas season, it can be rather easy for us to get swept up in all the big, shiny, mass-produced products to purchase as gifts. It’s easy to find the most marketed items, the cheapest clothing, the newest...
by Ebony Stanmore | Nov 28, 2021 | 16Days of Freedom, Blog, Sex Slavery
Through The 16 Days of Freedom so far, we have talked about the idea of imprisonment and modern slavery. But what is it actually like to live it? Sadly, these experiences are far too real for far too many people. People such as Maria*. Maria was a victim of, and...
by Ebony Stanmore | Nov 28, 2021 | 16Days of Freedom, Blog, Debt Bondage, Forced Labour
Modern slavery takes form in many ways; domestic abuse, sexual exploitation, trafficking etc. One of the most common forms of slavery is labour exploitation and debt bondage. What is labour exploitation? Labour exploitation involved forcing people to work for...
by Ebony Stanmore | Nov 28, 2021 | 16Days of Freedom, Blog, Forced Labour
Happy Human Rights Day! Human Rights Day, celebrated annually on December 10th, is the celebration of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This is a milestone document that proclaimed the inalienable rights EVERYONE is entitled to, regardless of...
by Ebony Stanmore | Nov 28, 2021 | 16Days of Freedom, Blog, Survivor News
Dreams and goals are the foundations of our future. Consider dreams the drawing board, providing us with a vision of where we’d like to go, who we’d like to be, and what we’d like to accomplish and experience. Dreams, however, cannot produce achievements on their own....
by Sally Irwin | Nov 28, 2021 | 16Days of Freedom, Blog
It is a year ago now that my sister told me about an event that she attended at The Freedom Hub. Within the beautiful venue, enjoying the food and wine, an alarming reality check was also served. That is, modern slavery continues to be rampant around the world,...
by Ebony Stanmore | Nov 24, 2021 | 16Days of Freedom, Blog, Ending Modern Slavery
Last night I asked my six year old niece two questions. Firstly, the age old tried and tested, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” This was met with the swift response of “an artist”. (The Christmas present request I’d just received for a new set of Sharpies...
by Ebony Stanmore | Nov 24, 2021 | About Modern Slavery, Blog, Ending Modern Slavery, Forced Labour
Racial inequality and discrimination is ongoing social epidemic. It has taken its toll on too many individuals who do not deserve such treatment. Unfortunately, this discrimination and mistreatment are often based solely on differences in skin colour, culture, and...
by Sally Irwin | Nov 24, 2021 | 16Days of Freedom, Blog
International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, December 2, reminds us that people should never be considered ‘property’ again. In modern Australia, it isn’t long until the conversation turns to the property market, with some claiming that...
by Ebony Stanmore | Nov 24, 2021 | About Modern Slavery, Blog, Ending Modern Slavery, Forced Labour, Forced Marriage, Sex Slavery, Stats and Facts about Modern Slavery
In yesterday’s article, A Quick Introduction to Modern Slavery, we highlighted the fact that individuals and communities are often made vulnerable to modern slavery by three main factors. 1. Gender-based violence 2. poverty and 3. racial...
by Ebony Stanmore | Nov 20, 2021 | 16Days of Freedom, About Modern Slavery, Blog
This blog is an introduction to modern slavery, which will set us up for the next 13 days of a deep dive into it. Because 16 days of freedom is about us looking at the issue of violence against women, through the lens of modern slavery. When was the last time you were...
by Ebony Stanmore | Nov 20, 2021 | 16Days of Freedom, About Modern Slavery, Blog
How does knowledge help our future? Australia has made significant progress in protecting civil and political rights, but there is still a lot of work to do as some human rights issues remain prevalent. One of the main issues still present is modern slavery. ...
by Ebony Stanmore | Nov 20, 2021 | 16Days of Freedom, About Modern Slavery, Blog
Addressing violence against women is a big deal. Think back to… 15. What were you doing at 15 years old? Were you discovering your new favourite band? Maybe planning your next Friday night? Finding your drive, your passion, your next wild...
by Ebony Stanmore | Oct 26, 2021 | Blog, Debt Bondage, Ending Modern Slavery
Millions across NSW, the ACT and Victoria are enjoying the end of COVID-19 lockdowns. However, for thousands of others across Australia, freedom won’t come as easily. The Global Slavery Index estimated that in 2016, around 15,000 people were living in conditions of...
by Ebony Stanmore | Oct 26, 2021 | Blog, Child Labour, Ending Modern Slavery, Ethical Business, Forced Labour, Slavery in Cocoa, Waterloo Cafe
From our hometowns to the global scale, injustice happens everywhere, every day. Sadly, this means issues get forgotten about, or overpowered by other problems. However, we rarely stop talking about them because they have been fixed. Those who have a hand in these...
by Ebony Stanmore | Sep 26, 2021 | Blog, Ending Modern Slavery
A wedding style is the overall aesthetic and feeling for one’s event. For some this can feel restricting and rigid, but others might think there are too many options. Either way this can create confusion and worries for a day meant to be filled with happiness and...
by Ebony Stanmore | Sep 14, 2021 | Blog, Forced Labour, Slavery in Prisons, Stats and Facts about Modern Slavery
Australian shoppers have a lot of freedom to make ethical choices at the shops. Yet, there is more label information about the living conditions of the hens laying our eggs than the people sewing our clothes. Perhaps no one would opt to buy “cage jeans”. Regardless,...
by Sally Irwin | Aug 4, 2021 | Blog
It has been a very interesting time for the business world in Q2. Delta virus is causing lockdowns, trading stops in many cities and consumers are only buying online. Online buying can increase modern slavery as consumers unknowingly purchase goods with slavery. On...
