Govt Invests $1.44M into Tackling Human Trafficking
26 March 2014 at 2:06 pm
More than $1.4 million in Federal Government funding will go towards organisations that work to detect and prevent human trafficking and slavery.
According to Minister for Justice Michael Keenan, four organisations will receive $360,000 over three years under the Grants to Australian Organisations Program.
“Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans (ACRATH), Anti-Slavery Australia, Project Respect and Scarlet Alliance are specialists in their fields and work tirelessly to prevent human trafficking and slavery by identifying people who are in need of help, and providing ongoing care and support to those who have experienced extreme exploitation,” Keenan said.
“Human trafficking is a hidden crime. We need to better recognise the signs and have the know-how to respond.
“This funding will be used for detection activities, direct support for individual victims of trafficking and slavery, and cutting-edge awareness programs to push our community to expose suspected exploitation.
“Globally, human trafficking is one of the biggest sources of income for organised crime and the Coalition Government understands that the work of Non-Government Organisations is crucial to the success of Australia’s strategy to combat human trafficking and slavery.”
Keenan said in the decade since the Howard Government launched Australia's strategy to combat human trafficking and slavery there had been more than 400 Australian Federal Police investigations into allegations of trafficking and slavery-related offences where 228 victims have been identified.
For more information on the Federal Government’s response to human trafficking and slavery, click here.
