"We are creating and contributing to media content and resources that use innovative and culturally appropriate ways to engage communities in conversations about child and forced marriage."

 

SPEAK NOW - PODCAST

 

Anti Slavery Australia, UTS

8 x Episode Podcast Series, 2023

Role: Host/Content Writer/Co-Producer/

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Speak Now is a project by Anti Slavery Australia at the University of Technology in Sydney (Faculty of Law) and has been created with funding from the Department of Social Services (DSS). The podcast series is produced by podcaster Kara Jensen-Mckinnon, hosted by Helena Hassani and Habiba, with support from Kathryn Clark and research fellow Dr Jacqueline Nelson. The Speak Now project and podcast was made possible with support and vision from Director of Anti Slavery Australia, Jennifer Burn and her team.

 

Helena Hassani has been delighted to host the series alongside fellow survivor Habiba and talk to other survivors and first responders on the frontline about their experiences. Episodes explore themes such as; lived experience of forced marriage;  survivors experience of service providers; navigating conflict with their families; how forced marriage intersects with other gender-based violence; signs and symptoms for identifying child marriage in a school setting; cases seen by the Australian Federal Police (AFP); LGBTIQ forced marriage; and legal definitions.  The podcast series features special guests, including; AFP, Anu Krishnan, Ali Hussein, Dr Manjula O’Connor, Bijan Kardooni, Professor Jennifer Burn (Director of Anti-Slavery Australia), Dr. Jacqueline Nelson (Research Fellow at Anti-Slavery Australia) and a number of school principals.

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"Today, 49.6 million people live in modern slavery. Only 1 in 5 victims in Australia are identified, meaning 80% do not get the support they need.

 

Australia’s initial response to modern slavery strongly focused on criminal justice outcomes and was not informed by the voices and experiences of survivors. For this reason, governments and policymakers have often missed the opportunity to learn from survivors, and have not recognised them as experts in their own experiences. But there is growing recognition that anti-slavery efforts must be more systematically survivor-informed." (Beyond Storytelling)

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Speak Now invites us all to grapple with the many complexities and challenges faced by those experiencing child and forced marriage and those perpetrating it. We invite you to join the conversation here or click the individual episodes below.

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If you would like to talk to someone about pressure to marry contact My Blue Sky