"Are you feeling forced, tricked or trapped?" The faith leaders who identify and support trafficking survivors

MELBOURNE, Australia - Sister Sarah Puls is a member of ACRATH, an Australian faith-based organization dedicated to addressing human trafficking and modern slavery. Her role involves working directly with survivors, migrant workers, schools, healthcare institutions and government bodies to address the issue. 

Sr. Puls recently spoke at the Women Deliver conference in Melbourne on a panel that was organized by the Hilton Foundation Catholic Sisters Initiative. Below, she shares why faith leaders are uniquely placed to end human trafficking in the Oceanic Pacific. 

Can you give an overview of the work you do?

The work that we do is responding to the issue of human trafficking and modern slavery. In Australia, it's often framed as both human trafficking and modern slavery, recognizing that slavery and exploitation take a lot of different forms. Sometimes it meets the definition of human trafficking — crossing a border — and sometimes it doesn't.

"Our work encompasses practical, on‑the‑ground support for individuals, both people who have experienced trafficking and modern slavery, and those who are in a period of recovery and rebuilding their life." - Sister Sarah Puls

How do you identify people who may be experiencing exploitation?

In our hospital project, we use the screening question “are you feeling forced, tricked or trapped for the benefit of someone else?” Which is a nice, simple question and it's a way of framing the issue: There needs to be an element of a person not having a choice, but also that someone else is using them for their own gain.

What kinds of practical support does ACRATH provide?

At ACRATH, our work encompasses practical, on‑the‑ground support for individuals, both people who have experienced trafficking and modern slavery, and those who are in a period of recovery and rebuilding their life.

We also work with people in the PALM scheme, people who have come to Australia from Pacific Island nations to work, and do awareness‑raising in schools and communities — sometimes on specialist issues like forced marriage. Because of our identity, we often get invited into Catholic schools and institutions.

What does your political advocacy involve?

We are part of the National Round Table on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, where we're one of the civil society partners who have a seat at the table, who are able to ask about how this will actually impact the individuals and bring the stories of the people that we know to the table. And it helps us to build relationships with governments.

The other work that we do is in healthcare. A lot of healthcare in Australia is provided by Catholic institutions, and so we've worked with those institutions to try and build their awareness of people who have experienced, and sometimes are in situations of, slavery‑like situations. If the healthcare system recognizes what's going on, they can support these people to freedom or to free choice.

It hasn't been published yet, but early research says that it's very impactful.

"While funded organizations might come in, faith communities are there day in, day out. We're part of the community." - Sister Sarah Puls

Why are faith leaders and faith‑based organizations uniquely placed to do this work?

The main thing is that we are on the ground with the people. While funded organizations — government‑funded projects — might come in, the faith communities are there day in, day out. For the sisters, we're part of those communities whether there's a project going on or not. We have a commitment to the people, and people know that. We might be able to utilize resources that come from outside the community, but our identity is in the community.

In the forced‑marriage prevention work that we do, communities have a lot of fear about how the government and police perceive cultural practices. As faith communities, we can come in and say, “We honour what your faith community's beliefs are. We also want to share with you about forced marriage and the vulnerabilities and risks of that, and make sure you understand what the law says about it.”

Can you share an example of how your global network supports people?

One of the reasons the sisters first got involved in anti‑trafficking work is because a person trafficked from Australia to another country found the sisters in that other country and said, “I need to go back to Australia, but my family are not supporting me.” And so it was the sisters in that country who contacted the sisters in Australia to meet her at the airport. 

It's a really practical global network where, if I meet someone from anywhere in the world and I need to make a connection, there will be a way. 

For that very first girl, she had no idea what the law in Australia said about her right to be an Australian citizen, no matter what her parents said. We were able to help her understand the diplomatic options that were open to her. She was with people that she trusts, so she could feel as safe as possible and able to make a decision for herself.

As told to Anne Fullerton. Interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.