Jenny Stanger fights to liberate the slaves

JENNY Stanger’s life’s work is to remind us people trafficking still happens, even in Australia, in restaurants, farms and nail salons.

Jenny Stanger (correct spelling) established Australia's only shelter for trafficked women and has been nominated for a Pride of Australia medal. Picture: Toby Zerna

WE think slavery and people trafficking ended long ago.

But Jenny Stanger’s life’s work is to remind us it still happens, even in Australia, in places as seemingly innocuous as construction sites, restaurants, farms and nail salons.

Ms Stanger is the founder of Australia’s first refuge for trafficked women. She set it up in conjunction with the Salvation Army about six years ago, when she arrived here from the US and saw there was nothing.

Awareness of the issue has since improved — mining magnate Andrew Forrest and his wife Nicola last year ­donated $1 million to end slavery in Australia — but she said more work needed to be done.

“I think if we went out on the street and asked people on the street, ‘does slavery happen here?’ most people would say no, or they would say it only happens to Asian women working in brothels.”

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It’s not slavery as we might think of it — working for nothing, being kept in chains.

The people Ms Stanger is talking about might be paid a small cash wage, and take the job voluntarily.

But they can’t leave.

“It’s not a bad job. It’s a bad job plus some element of coercion that’s keeping them there — threats of violence, threatening their family in their home country, threats of the police treating them like a criminal,” she said.

“Even though they are not locked in, they are in a prison without walls. There are very clever criminals preying on their vulnerabilities for profit.”

Ms Stanger works with victims of forced marriage, and also of “marriage slavery”, when a woman, often from overseas, thinks she is marrying for love, but instead is exploited for her labour, or for sex, and not allowed to leave.

“We call it domestic violence plus exploitation,” Ms Stanger said.

“They thought they were going to build a life with their spouse. But the intention of the sponsoring partner is to exploit the woman.”

Ms Stanger is now an Australian citizen. For her tireless work protecting vulnerable people since moving to Australia, she has been nominated for the Pride of Australia’s Fair Go award.