Prayer and action: a call to end modern slavery and human trafficking

Imagine being sold, tricked or coerced into a life you didn’t choose — a life you, and maybe your children, cannot leave. No freedom. No rights. No control over your own body or health. Perhaps starved, abused or forced to work under threat. This is the daily reality for millions of people around the world.

For many today, slavery is often thought of as a relic of the past, but the truth is confronting. It still exists, often hidden in plain sight.

That’s why, each year, The Salvation Army observes the International Day of Prayer for Victims of Human Trafficking — a dedicated day to reflect, pray and act for justice. In 2025, this day will fall on Sunday 28 September.

How the Salvation Army fights human trafficking

The Salvation Army has been responding to the injustice of human trafficking and modern slavery for much of its 160 years. As a faith-based organisation, its work is both practical and spiritual — from providing safe houses and survivor support services to training and advocacy.

Internationally, The Salvation Army is guided by the Freedom Action Framework, which includes:

• Prayer: Grounding all action in the belief that oppression is not only structural but spiritual
• Prevention: Raising awareness and addressing root causes
• Protection: Supporting survivors as they regain their health and dignity
• Partnership: Collaborating with a global network to respond together
• Participation: Equipping Salvationists and ministry units to engage meaningfully
• Prosecution: Backing legal processes and restorative justice
• Policy: Advocating for systemic change
• Proof: Building knowledge and action through research and evaluation

 
In Australia, the response includes a safe house, the Additional Referral Pathway (ARP) for crisis support and referrals and survivor leadership programs. It also includes advocacy work, programs such as supply chain mapping, training for frontline workers and participation in national and regional anti-trafficking coalitions.

A deeply spiritual mandate

Salvation Army corps officer (service leader and pastor) Major Melanie-Anne Holland holds a dual role as The Salvation Army’s National Contact Person for Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking. She describes her role as a “funnel”, connecting international efforts to local Australian responses, and vice versa.

“All countries and territories where The Salvation Army serves have a similar role,” she says. “The idea is that it becomes a conduit to make sure international responses are coordinated and integrated.”

Highlighting the importance of prayer as well as programs, Melanie-Anne says, “From a theological point of view, The Salvation Army is firmly grounded in the belief that all people are made in the image of God, and we bear that image in equal value.

“So human dignity and the sanctity of life matter to us — and the protection of each other’s flourishing as image-bearers of God. That’s why slavery, and all the things that diminish human dignity, are systemic evils we feel called to address.”

She says one powerful tool is training, which is available for Salvation Army staff and volunteers.

“If we can train someone in every centre — and we’ve got more than 1000 expressions of The Salvation Army in Australia — to recognise modern slavery in the Australian context, we actually become a remarkable safety net.”

A legacy of justice

The Salvation Army’s concern for people vulnerable to exploitation stretches back to the 1800s. In 1885, The Salvation Army’s Bramwell and Florence Booth worked alongside journalist W. T. Stead on an exposé that revealed how easily young girls could be trafficked in London. Known as The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon, the series sparked public outrage and led to the Criminal Law Amendment Act, raising the age of consent from 13 to 16.

In Japan, where The Salvation Army’s mission began in 1895, one of its first public efforts was to campaign against the unwilling exploitation of women and girls in the geisha and sex trade systems. Japanese Salvationist Gunpei Yamamuro and his wife Kieko led these efforts, supported by then-Commissioner Henry Bullard, who published a special issue of The War Cry calling for change.

This advocacy contributed to legal reforms that gave women more rights and freedom to leave situations of forced sexual servitude.

What does modern slavery look like in Australia?

Modern slavery includes forced labour, debt bondage, forced marriage and human trafficking — situations where people are exploited and cannot walk away due to threats, violence, coercion or deception. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), at least 50 million people were trapped in modern slavery in 2021, an increase of 10 million since 2016. Women and children remain especially vulnerable.

While precise figures are difficult to determine due to the hidden nature of modern slavery, estimates suggest that more than 40,000 people in Australia are affected by practices such as forced marriage and exploitative labour conditions. Industries such as agriculture, hospitality, aged care, cleaning, mining and manufacturing are among those at risk. (Source: modernslavery.gov.au)

“I think most Australians, if they knew, would be horrified,” Melanie-Anne says.

Prayer that changes hearts and systems

So why hold a dedicated day of prayer?

“The International Salvation Army includes prayer in its Freedom Action Framework because we believe that the oppression and enslavement of people is a spiritual issue,” Melanie-Anne says.

“When we pray, two things happen. One is that our hearts are changed to be more aware and aligned with the needs of an aching world. The second is that we join in partnership with God in changing the situation.”

In 2025, the International Day of Prayer will be marked under the theme Light to Life, inspired by Exodus 3:2 — “There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.”

Organisers say the burning bush symbol reflects God's enduring presence and call to justice. It continues to inspire faith-led action in the face of suffering and injustice.

Melanie-Anne says, “For me, all the actions we take are grounded in the faces and lives of people I carry with me from this ministry over the years. I’ve looked into the eyes of people who have had everything stripped away from them — dignity, autonomy, safety. And I’ve seen what it looks like when someone comes to a place where they can choose, explore who they are and set a course for their life that is full of hope.

“We sing ‘Amazing Grace — My chains are gone, I’ve been set free’. This is literally what it is to work in modern slavery and human trafficking responses. It’s unshackling vulnerable people from systems that were only ever designed to exploit, oppress and ultimately destroy.”

How you can help end modern slavery

Each of us can make a difference by learning more, speaking up through advocacy, supporting ethical supply chains, praying and taking other practical steps.

Find out more about The Salvation Army’s work fighting modern slavery and exploitation and explore Australia’s Social Justice Stocktake on modern slavery to see how you can help.

Support for people at risk of or experiencing modern slavery is available via The Salvation Army Additional Referral Pathway helpline 1800 000 277 (1800 000 ARP) or arp@salvationarmy.org.au