SIW September 22, 2025
"When
Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever
follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”’
(John 8:12 NIV)
In
Australia, we have an estimated 41 000 people living in modern slavery.
Modern
slavery in the Australian context happens in 4 main ways: there is forced
labour, commonly affecting people in agriculture, construction, cleaning,
hospitality, domestic work and meat processing.
These people
may be held in bondage by withheld wages, confiscation of passports and other
documents, unsafe work conditions or coercion and violence.
Another form
is sexual exploitation of adults or children, women are commonly lured to
Australia on the promise of marriage or work and then held as prostitutes,
movements restricted, documents confiscated and income limited.
Child
exploitation is a little different because often the exploitation occurs
outside of Australia when Australians travel to places where it is easy to
exploit children or when Australians exploit vulnerable families by asking parents to supply images or video
access.
Forced
Marriage is the most common form of modern slavery reported in Australia. Young
people, mostly young women but also men, are forced or coerced into marriages
and the forced marriage is only the start, common experiences within the
marriage included physical, verbal, sexual and financial abuse, restrictions on
movement, domestic servitude, and being barred from accessing education and
employment, typically at the hands of the husband or members of his family.
Some young women in Australia have been murdered at the direction of their
husbands family.
The fourth
type of modern slavery we see in the Autralian context is imported products. Nearly
two-thirds of all forced labour cases are linked to global supply chains, with
workers exploited across a wide range of sectors and at every stage of the
supply chain. Most forced labour occurs in the lowest tiers of supply chains;
that is, in the extraction of raw materials and in production stages. If we
purchase electronics, garments, textiles or fish, there are likely slaves
involved.
PRAY
God of justice, hope and love, Father of the
fatherless, defender of the oppressed, our hope for years to come. We believe
that it is for freedom that you have set us free, to serve one another through
love that we may live in abundance and goodness. Dear God, In this moment, we
stand with our sisters and brothers, men and women, boys and girls who are
victims of modern slavery and human trafficking. We know you feel their hurt,
fear, excruciating pain, humiliation and all they might be going through, of which
we may not be aware. Lord, we pray that you rescue them from the hands of their
oppressors, release them from the clutches of the wicked and by your grace
restore their lives and bring them into light. Help them heal, grant them
justice and may their traffickers repent and come to know you more
Fill us
with your sacred passion and love that we may continue to fight for justice.
Use us as your tool, to help end this human tragedy. And may your love, embrace
and presence never depart from these victims. Hear our cry and prayer, O
heavenly Father.
We follow a God
who hears our prayers and as we celebrate the International Day of Prayer for
Victims of Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, we are using the God inspired
theme ‘Light to Life’, based on John 8:12, where Jesus calls himself the light
of the world. I am sure we all relate to the fears, uncertainties and sense of
isolation that the dark can bring. The thing that is terrifying at 3am is so
much easier to think about in the light of day.
The power of
light, brought by jesus, brings life.In JOhn 8:12, Jesus affirms: ‘I am the
light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will
have the light of life.’ This declaration reveals Jesus’ as the one who combats
darkness, bringing clarity, hope and renewal. His light offers direction and
purpose, allowing us to experience divine grace and love. The light of Jesus
shines in everyone, including victims of human trafficking, exploitation and
violence, who are subjected to oppression and humiliation, and are deprived of
their freedom. We must also remember that the oppressors are children of God
and are experiencing their own form of bondage, maybe because they are in
spiritual darkness or because they are, themselves vulnerable to exploitation.
PRAY
Dear God of
Justice,
We hear the
cries of people trapped in incidences of modern slavery
and
exploitation.
We are
overwhelmed, dismayed and desperate for justice for the defenceless,
the
exploited and the forgotten.
God of
light, we ask for your immediate justice for all those trapped in modern
slavery and
exploitation.
We desire
justice. We pray for reconciliation for the wrongs the perpetrators have
done, and
may you pierce their hearts with your righteous illumination and help
them to
humbly repent and turn from their wicked ways.
We pray that
perpetrators will turn themselves to the task of helping to prevent
others from
participating in the victimisation of humankind.
Amen!
For us, who
have freedom, we want to see all people free, we want to see justice and want
to see everyone enjoy life in all it’s fullness.
Father
God, we pray with confidence at this
moment knowing you will hear our cries, especially for justice for those
wronged by sexual exploitation and forced labour. For the oppressed and
destitute experiencing darkness, we ask that you shine as the light of hope and
peace. Please break the chains of those who bind others in slavery and poverty,
that all of God’s children would experience the blessings of freedom and the
opportunity to live a valued and healthy life. Lord, we ask that you give
strength to those courageous souls who work with victims and survivors of
sexual exploitation and forced labour. Encourage them in their spirit, heart
and body, and provide these workers with the resources they need to support
those inflicted by the injustices of the world. We thank you, Lord, that you
are the God who hears us, May our hearts
join in one accord as we lift our voices praying for freedom and justice for
all. Lord, thank you for hearing our cries. Amen!
While we
pray, we must also act as we are able. When we can we need to speak up, through
our vote, our voice and our spending power
•We must identify ourselves with Christ, with
his light and remember that we are called to reflect his light, in the case of
modern slavery we do that by speaking up for those who have had their voice
silenced.
Bringing
light means restoring dignity, we don’t have a lot of opportunity to restore
dignity for the victims of human trafficking and slavery but we can give
dignity, healing and freedom to anyone who we cross paths with. Every human
being is worthy of dignity, healing and freedom and if we spread dignity where
we can, it can ripple out to reach many more.
We are invited to be reflections of this light
in the world. We can support, care for and be a source of hope for the
oppressed and wounded. As we celebrate this day of prayer, the message can
remind us that even in the darkest situations, the light of life shines through
the grace and mercy of christ
PRAY
I hear the
cries of daughters and sons beyond the dark; trafficked and enslaved for the
profit of others.
I stand with you.
I see the
next generation of vulnerable children targeted for the benefit of worldly
pleasures.
I will fight for you.
I stand with
front-line practitioners, advocating for the freedom of victims of oppression
and walking alongside survivors.
I acknowledge you.
I lament for
the ways I have knowingly and unknowingly contributed to modern slavery and
human trafficking through my ignorance, my privilege and my spending power.
I refuse to
be blind.
May my
prayers and those of your people turn into action as we fight against injustice
together. We are not free until we all experience light.
**Prayers used were supplied by the International Social Justice Commission of The Salvation Army
