This morning in Canberra, Jo Clay, ACT Greens MLA for Ginninderra, tabled a bill in ACT Parliament to address modern slavery.

The bill proposes to:

• Create an ACT Anti-slavery Commissioner, who would advocate for action to combat modern slavery and protect the the rights of survivors.
  
• Introduce steps to identify and address modern slavery risks in the goods and services the ACT government sources.
  

Jo Clay said, “Canberrans care about the wellbeing of those in our community, where products come from, where they end up and the welfare of those who are involved in these supply chains. This Bill is an important first step in legislating to effectively respond to modern slavery in the ACT and I look forward to the important community conversation this legislation will initiate.”

Education is key to breaking intergenerational cycles of poverty and violence.

Educating girls is linked to faster poverty reduction, better maternal health, lower child mortality, and reduced child marriage and violence against women.

This International Women's Day, we're pleased to share that we have committed to increase our support for education for women and girls, through undergraduate, postgraduate and technical skills scholarships. These scholarships will be delivered through our partner, Asha Nepal, with the support of their social worker, counsellor and job coordinator.

In one of the best examples of the long-term, transformative impact of our partner's work, some of these young people, with lived experience of trafficking and gender-based violence, were the first children in Asha Nepal’s care in 2008. With Asha's support, they have graduated from school, reintegrated with their family and are now pursuing higher education!