Perth Archdiocese and the West Australian Catholic Migrant & Refugee Office hosted survivor advocate Moe Turaga at an event in partnership with the Australian Catholic Anti-Slavery Network last week.
Representatives from six Catholic organisations participating in the ACAN Program attended the event at St Mary’s Cathedral, Perth, on September 11, including the Perth Archdiocese, the University of Notre Dame Australia, St John of God Health Care, Southern Cross Care WA, MercyCare and Catholic Education WA.
Survivor advocate Mr Turaga and modern slavery remediation service Domus 8.7 advisor Ruth Furber praised the work of Catholic organisations in assessing and addressing modern slavery in their operations and supply chains.
“Catholic organisations participating in the ACAN program are prepared for the day they find people with indicators of modern slavery because they have access to Domus 8.7 remediation service,” Mr Turaga said.
Ms Furber, a global supply chain expert in the mining and energy sector for the past 17 years, commended several initiatives of the ACAN program.
“ACAN’s pre-qualified supplier directory and, most importantly, an independent remediation service in Domus 8.7 – are worthy of applause,” Ms Furber said.
Mr Turaga shared his personal story of modern slavery and called on Catholic organisations to set their sights on improving remedy pathways for people living in modern slavery.
“For people leaving a situation of modern slavery, you need support immediately. You will need case management, welfare and accommodation,” Mr Turaga said.
“Domus 8.7 remediation service already provides independent advice and has case management systems in place. However, there is still only one safe house dedicated to modern slavery victim-survivors in Australia – which is run by the Salvation Army.
“We need a Catholic response to address accommodation needs of victims – similar to Bakhita House run by Caritas in the UK.”
The Perth event launched the Compendium of Catholic Modern Slavery Statements, published annually by ACAN.
The Compendium details $8.5 billion in procurement spending across a wide range of Catholic organisations for the 2023 calendar year.
It is available on the ACAN website.
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Archdiocese of Perth hosts event with modern slavery survivor (ACAN)
