In June 2024, EDM launched our school’s program, “Project 180”, to raise awareness around the problem of Human trafficking in Nepal and on a global scale. Project 180 aims to inspire a generation to become the change instead of part of the problem.
Since 2007, EDM rep Darren has been presenting to school students across WA, taking them on a walk through the very real impact of human trafficking in countries such as Cambodia, Thailand as well as into Nepal.
So, what does that look like?
We believe that to effect change, you start by raising awareness. Project 180 shines a light on what is often hidden in darkness. Students are introduced to the work of EDM in interception in Nepal and are walked through how someone might end up being trafficked. They also develop an understanding of what it takes to turn a life around 180 degrees.
They experience what it is to be an 8-year-old child searching through rubbish tips for food in Cambodia and develop an understanding of abject poverty and what that looks like for a child. Then, students are invited to get a glimpse into bars and clubs across Asia, where young girls and women are exploited, often for less than the price of a beer, on repeat, day in, day out. They visit the bars in Southeast Asia where Darren joined undercover rescue agents posing as a western businessman, see the groundwork for facilitating rescue, and develop the understanding that there’s so much more going on than what meets the eye of ignorant tourists.
Students recognise that the sex tourists driving such a market are men who so often look much like the presenter in front of them, their uncle, and the neighbour across the street.
They are asked the question; how do you change a culture that oppresses the most vulnerable? With 31% of sex tourists being found to be Australian men (Reference: UN Report 2012 ), students begin to understand that though we as an Australian society have been a significant part of the problem, we also can be part of the solution. By addressing the attitudes that cause these situations, we disable the ignorance perpetuating the problem.
If ignorance is bliss for some, it’s deadly for others. Project 180 aims to lift the curtain and expose the lies that the young girls and women in these places are there of their own free will. We aim to reveal the extent of slavery, oppression and abuse in a way that is digestible and impacting without traumatising those attending.
Students are challenged to understand the worth of women in their world and advocate for the protection of women in both our society and in spaces like Thailand, where Australian tourists swarm in the holiday season.
Through the presentation, students gain an understanding of the connection between human trafficking and slave labour. They are challenged to rethink their consumer habits and again be part of the solution, not the problem.
It brings it home to local communities by showcasing the work of the Salvation Army on the streets of Perth. It elevates the impact and importance of organisations such as World Vision as they work to address global poverty.
Every Daughter Matters is an anti-trafficking charity that operates mainly through interception. We believe that prevention is better than a cure and that there is such value in intercepting young women before they fall victim to the brutal reality of the human trafficking impact in the forms of sex trafficking, forced labour, forced marriage or organ trafficking.
Students are invited to walk through our process as they journey from being present at the border as interception occurs to touring the Emergency Shelter with Ross, our CEO, and the Safe Houses with Janelle, our 2IC/Administrator.
Students meet some of the girls who have journeyed through our program and gain an understanding of what’s in store for them once they leave us.
The cost of interception is $187 per individual. The cost of rescue is many times that. We invite students to become a part of the solution through sponsorship and fundraising to enable EDM to continue and expand its work in Nepal.
