Sally was surrounded by Botox and ballgowns as a diplomat's wife. Then something unexpected happened.

Content warning: This post includes descriptions of violence against women. 

"Once you see something like what these women have gone through, you can't unsee it."

These are the words of Australian businesswoman Sally Irwin, who I'm sitting down with at a cafe in Sydney. 

When you walk into this cafe, it has all the characteristics of a quintessential inner city eatery. There's great coffee, comfy seating and a wide food selection. But there's a deeper story behind this cafe. It has helped hundreds of women find a fresh start in life — a safe chapter away from abuse.

Irwin still vividly remembers the moment she first saw the impacts of slavery.

It was 2008. Her family had been posted to the Australian Embassy in Berlin, her husband being a diplomat. Irwin was no longer allowed to work because of her passport restrictions. She was surrounded by opulence — other wives drinking, partying, going for long lunches at restaurants, and after a while, it became nauseating.

"I was sick of having to be just 'the wife' standing at these parties, talking about Botox and ballgowns. I needed purpose. So I decided to volunteer."

Watch: Modern slavery survivor Sarah shares her story. Post continues below.

Irwin started volunteering with an organisation that helped girls who were victims of sex trafficking throughout Eastern Europe. 

"They were sent over to work as hairdressers or in restaurants, or at least that's what they were told. They were then put down in basements, put to gruelling work, shot up with heroin and abused until they got to the point where they were either completely addicted to heroin or had lost every bit of self-will. Then they would be made to go on the street and sell themselves," explains Irwin.

"I was volunteering at a cafe needle exchange and these women would come in. I'd sit there washing the blood off them after they'd been likely beaten up. I'd paint their nails, help them feel beautiful again, but there was nothing I could do in that role to actually put a stop to what they were enduring."

Upon returning to live in Australia, Irwin couldn't stop thinking about the women she had met in Berlin.

She had no interest in returning to the corporate world. She wasn't a lawyer or social worker. So she decided to start a business instead.

The Freedom Hub aims to end modern slavery in Australia, and to help victim-survivors recover and rebuild. In 2014, the Hub's Survivor School began and then the Hub's social enterprise cafe was opened in 2015. 100 per cent of profits from all that the Hub does goes towards funding the Survivor School.

Many Aussies might be shocked to hear that modern slavery is alive and thriving in our country.

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.

When you visit the social enterprise cafe, where Irwin and I have met, there are signs dotted around the venue that speak to its origins. There's also the stories from survivors. 

"I grew up in Africa and lost my parents in a war. When an agent said I could work in the beauty industry in Australia — and earn ten times the amount I earned at home — I was very happy and immediately signed up. My first day I worked 14 hours without any break or food. After my first week, I was paid $80. I had worked seven days from 7am to 9pm," wrote the survivor.

"I was in this job for 16 months. One day I was too sick to go to work and my boss kicked me in the stomach because I complained. I ended up in hospital. The police asked questions about the bruises on my body — and they went to rescue all the other women."

Another survivor's testimony reads: "When I was six years old my family came to Australia. When I was in Year 8, I was introduced to a friend of my dad's from back home. I didn't feel comfortable around him. He returned with an offer for my dad, and I was forced to leave my home and sign the marriage paperwork. 

"My mother told me I had to submit, as it was wrong to argue with your husband. One day I saw airline tickets with my name on it. That day I ran away and went to my school. My teacher found me crying in the bathroom, scared."

Modern slavery can take many forms, such as forced marriage, forced labour, sex trafficking and sex slavery, and terrifyingly, organ trafficking. 

Some of the stories of the survivors are showcased in spaces in the cafe. Image: Supplied. 

"The Survivor School is very different to anything that's happening in Australia, which is why we exist," says Irwin. 

"Most agencies and the government's process is that when someone is identified as in slavery, they have a temporary program they might get to join. But it's not permanent, or survivor-focused. We help the women get back on their feet, find a job, deal with their mental health and address the trauma. They can access the Hub for life too."

"Our model is getting private funding from corporates, foundations, donors and local councils and from that we are able to be very community-based and tangible in our approach."

In total, The Freedom Hub has supported almost 300 victim-survivors, who are all women.

"We are the coaches and mentors to help them rebuild their lives. For example, we had an Iranian woman, a lawyer, who came to Australia to learn more about law and to learn English. She ended up a victim of forced marriage," Irwin tells Mamamia.

"Then there was a woman who came to Australia from the Philippines. She was amazing at hospitality and wanted to get better at serving, as she owned a cafe in her hometown.

"She came here through a program she found, and had her passport taken off her upon arrival. She was driven away from the airport, and ended up in the back of a dodgy restaurant. She slept on a dirty mattress on the floor of the restaurant's basement and was locked in there for five years, brought up at nighttime to wash the dishes from the restaurant's dinner service."

Both of these women were fortunately saved from these environments, and were part of the Survivor School. They are now both on track with their lives. 

Sally Irwin, the founder of The Freedom Hub. Image: Supplied.

In June 2023, 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 now calls for tougher federal penalties for companies using exploited labour in their supply chains.

Irwin sees it as a step in the right direction. 

Across the cafe, there are butterfly motifs everywhere. It's a poignant message, says Irwin. 

"The obvious motif is the caterpillar turning into a butterfly, but that wasn't the reason why I picked it. Ours is an origami butterfly. It's about the butterfly effect, the Japanese idea that small things can cause big impact."

It's these women's resilience that has stayed with Irwin over the past decade working in this space. She continues to have contact with many of the survivors from the early days of the Hub too.

"When we meet them, a lot of these women have lost hope. To see these pioneering women regain their sense of self, it shows what strong people they are."

For more from Sally Irwin and The Freedom Hub, you can visit their website here. 

Australians who are in or notice suspected modern slavery can contact the Anti-slavery Commissioner for NSW's office (nswantislavery.org.au) or federal police (131 237). Resources are also available at Survivor Connections. 

Feature Image: Supplied.