Sarah is a victim-survivor of modern slavery. This is her story.

Content warning: This post includes descriptions of sexual assault and domestic violence that may be distressing to some readers.

Modern slavery. It's a term so few of us understand. Nor do we realise just how common it actually is in Australia.

Nationally, there are estimated to be 41,000 people in modern slavery – where an individual is exploited by others, for personal or commercial gain. Anyone can be a victim. Marginalised communities are often amongst those targeted – for example migrant workers, visa holders, and those who are in sex work, agricultural, beauty or cleaning industries. 

Sarah tells Mamamia she has struggled with the idea that she is a victim-survivor of modern slavery. It's taken time to acknowledge the full gravity of what she endured, falling prey to debt bondage, trafficking and coercive control.

But today, she is using her voice to tell her story and advocate for the thousands of victim-survivors who still feel voiceless.

Growing up, Sarah was surrounded by gender-based violence. 

"I think if you've experienced certain abusive things in childhood, it almost lays the groundwork for you to potentially experience similar situations over and over again in your adult years. I grew up in a really extreme religious environment that had a very authoritarian structure," Sarah tells Mamamia.

Watch: Sarah tells part of her story. Post continues below.

"When I got out as a young adult, I really had no life skills and no radar for what abuse looked like and what wasn't okay. So I think that led to me finding myself in a string of toxic relationships and feeling socially isolated."

One of these relationships in particular was violent and left her in serious debt when she escaped. 

"I had over $20,000 of debt at that point, and at the time and in my circumstances, that was a significant amount of debt hanging over me. It was crippling."

While feeling incredibly vulnerable and worried for her future, Sarah met a man in a work setting that promised to help fix her situation. He listened to her. Engaged with her. He seemed to care and was intent he could make her financially successful. 

In reality, he was exploiting Sarah's desperation for stability.

"If someone seems to care, that's really powerful for people. I also felt as though I had no other options, and him telling me he could solve my problems felt comforting. When you're desperate, it clouds your decision-making."

Of course, the entire onus of responsibility lies on the perpetrator, not the victim. 

"Prior to meeting this man, I had been stripping. I had dabbled in full service, which is like escort work, but I hadn't felt safe. That isn't the experience of every person in the sex work industry, particularly those who work autonomously and consensually and have the ability to make their own decisions," Sarah notes. 

"This was just my personal case. I know others in the sex work industry that have had positive experiences."

Some women within Sarah's orbit at the place she worked said this man could help her feel safe, and help her make enough money to get her out of debt and back on her feet.

"He assured me I could leave whenever I wanted, I wouldn't have to do things I wasn't comfortable with. I see now he was grooming me from the very first moment we met."

Sarah says the perpetrator was incentivised to pressure her – and many other women – into doing things they didn't want to do because he would directly profit from it. 

He was profiting not only off the sex work she did but also ferreting her vulnerability. Then things gradually became worse and the abuse, assaults and psychological manipulation set in. 

"He targeted us all differently. He targeted my financial desperation and past trauma and leveraged that against me. His behaviour was reminiscent of any abusive individual, just like someone who is domestically violent," Sarah explains. 

"If I expressed feelings or needs, there would be consequences. He put this idea in our heads that we owed him and wouldn't survive in the outside world without him. You don't necessarily need to chain a person up to make them feel like they can't leave – often perpetrators build a prison in the victim's mind."

Sarah was under this man's control for two years. 

Sarah's dog Luna brings a lot of joy to her life today. Image: Supplied.

It was in August 2020 that she managed to break free. But this was a terrifying time for Sarah, fearing for her personal safety.

"I had been thinking of leaving in the months leading up. I was told I had to pay $25,000 to buy my profile out – he controlled my profile, which had explicit pictures and personal information. One girl had tried to leave before me, and he had found out and sabotaged her income [from the sex work she was doing] so that she couldn't round up the money to leave."

After secretly seeking legal advice, a lawyer told Sarah she was a victim of debt bondage and trafficking. They were things Sarah didn't understand properly before. Let alone the term modern slavery.

In Australia recently, we've been hearing more and more cases of modern slavery being reported on. 

In June, the NSW Anti-slavery Commissioner published a three-year strategy for addressing modern slavery. The strategic plan aims to stop taxpayer dollars from being spent on products of modern slavery. It also aims to centre victim-survivors in new anti-slavery efforts.

There are also now calls for tougher federal penalties for companies using exploited labour in their supply chains.

Dr James Cockayne is the Anti-slavery Commissioner for NSW, and NSW remains the only state with an Anti-slavery Commissioner. He has been working closely with Sarah, who is a Lived Experience Advisor in the Office of the NSW Anti-slavery Commissioner.

Speaking with Mamamia, Dr James Cockayne said the plan has received "overwhelming support" from a wide range of government, business, civil society, union and survivor communities. 

"I was particularly pleased to see the strong engagement with the Plan by the NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley and leading representatives from multiple political parties. And since the launch we've seen a surge of engagement - by victim-survivors coming forward for support and assistance, whistleblowers trying to reveal exploitation and abuse, and business and civil society looking for ways to engage with and learn from survivors of modern slavery," he says.

The plan for the rest of 2023 is to roll out the initiatives noted in the plan. This includes work with the financial and healthcare sectors, collaboration with over 400 public entities to address modern slavery in their supply-chains, and holding the first NSW Anti-slavery Forum, later this year. 

As for what Dr Cockayne loves most about his work in this field?

"Seeing positive change happen in real time - from individual lives up to the systemic level - and the pride that brings to everyone who makes it happen."

Sophie Otiende is a Kenyan activist and advocate for survivors of human trafficking. She is also a survivor of modern slavery and now CEO of the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery. 

Sophie was in NSW recently to help launch the new three-year strategy for addressing modern slavery and spoke with Mamamia. 

"What NSW is doing is commendable. It's basically the first jurisdiction in the world that will truly require all government departments and local councils to take steps towards removing products of modern slavery from procurement," she explains.

Sophie also commends the "inclusion of survivors" in this discussion and the effort to make a difference, saying it's high time we talk about modern slavery more.

"I've had conversations with many Australians. And the first question is 'Does slavery actually happen here?' The answer is yes – it happens everywhere in the world. And 80 per cent of trafficking survivors are women and girls. Our whole global economy is built on the back of forced labour. Only now are we starting to acknowledge that."

Ultimately, this strategic plan isn't the golden answer to ending modern slavery. 

But it's an important and well-thought-out step in the right direction. For Sophie, although this subject is personal to her, it's a cause she continues to fight passionately for.

"It definitely takes a toll. The system wasn't good for people who look like me. What I didn't see in my life and what people didn't do for me when I was in that position, I want to do everything I can to make sure that doesn't happen to anyone else. It might sound cliché, but I just want to make the world a better place."

Sophie Otiende. Image: Supplied.

For Sarah, she has a very similar outlook on what she wants to achieve via her advocacy.

"For myself and the other girls who were hurt by that man, we battled through it on our own. We didn't find any support out there, to help us recover. Now many of us want to ensure there is effective help available," she says. 

"It's been really nice to work with Dr James Cockayne. To actually have the Commissioner take the step of employing a survivor and want to hear our lived experience and our voice in developing the strategic plan and future policies – that's very meaningful."

Considering it was only three years ago that Sarah fled the perpetrator, she says there are still good days and troubling days for her mental health. 

It's a reality anyone who has endured a trauma like modern slavery can attest to. But Sarah tells Mamamia it's been comforting for her to remember that healing isn't linear.

"Abusers like to take our voice and our agency. Silence allows these kinds of perpetrators to continue to do what they do. But I don't want to be silent anymore. Part of reclaiming my power is through this work I'm doing now."

Recently, Sarah was looking for a survivor support group for those who have been victims of modern slavery in Australia. Sadly unsurprisingly, she found nothing. So Sarah made one herself. 

"I founded the first survivor-led support group for people that have experienced slavery, called Survivor Connections. We have a website that gives people information on everything that I wished I could have had when I was stuck. And we also run a weekly support group. It's been great to see the response from people," she says.

This is what empowerment looks like for Sarah.

To see how far she has come, and how she has rebuilt her life. To have people stand side-by-side with her and aim to address this issue. To make a tangible difference from something that was "soul-destroying". 

"There's joy in my life again. I love seeing my friends and other survivors, sharing a laugh. I love to dance, I love my dog. Building better memories and a new start – that's healing for me." 

Sarah is a Lived Experience Advisor in the Office of the NSW Anti-slavery Commissioner. Sarah is also a member of the national Survivor Advisory Council established by the Australian Government, and a member of the international Survivor Alliance's Action Plan Working Group. She has chosen not to include her last name for privacy reasons. 

A support and referral hotline will be established for those in modern slavery, as per NSW's first strategic plan. In the meantime, Dr Cockayne urges Australians who are in or notice suspected modern slavery to contact his office (nswantislavery.org.au) or federal police (131 237). Resources are also available at Survivor Connections.

If this has raised any issues for you, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service. 

Feature Image: Supplied/Mamamia.