Shocking as it may sound, one of the world’s great moral crises remains hidden in plain sight. I’m talking about slavery, the commodification of human beings, the theft of freedom through the coercion and exploitation of vulnerable people.
This coming Thursday, July 30, is the World Day against Trafficking in Persons, reminding us that behind ordinary streets, workplaces, farms, homes, and digital marketplaces are lives constrained by coercion, deception, and fear. Human trafficking reduces people to commodities, measuring their worth by profit rather than dignity.
Against this darkness, the Christian gospel proclaims a radically different vision: every person is created by God, loved by God, and called to live in freedom. The biblical story is a story of redemption. Again and again, God is revealed as the one who liberates rather than enslaves, restores rather than exploits, and calls people into covenant rather than coercion.
The Exodus, the return from exile, the ministry of Jesus, and the promise of the new creation all declare that God opposes every power that diminishes human dignity. Human trafficking therefore stands in direct contradiction to the movement of salvation history: where exploitation destroys, redemption restores.
Israel’s defining myth is the Exodus, where God hears the cries of an enslaved people and brings them into freedom. That memory shaped Israel’s social ethics. The call, “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt” (e.g., Deut 24:18) became the basis for protecting the stranger, defending the poor, and rejecting exploitation. The Law prohibited kidnapping for enslavement (Exod 21:16), while the prophets condemned those who traded in human lives for economic gain (e.g., Amos 2:6). Isaiah insists that true worship means “loosing the bonds of injustice” and “letting the oppressed go free” (Isa 58:6).
These themes find their fulfilment in Jesus Christ, the liberator par excellence. Jesus begins his public ministry by proclaiming good news to the poor, liberty to captives, and freedom for the oppressed (Luke 4:18–19). Throughout the Gospels he restores dignity to those whom society excludes, revealing that the kingdom of God is measured by compassion rather than power. In his own deep suffering, Jesus identifies with the vulnerable and exploited, and his resurrection offers hope that oppression will not have the final word in this world.
The later New Testament continues this vision. Paul’s declaration that there is “neither slave nor free” in Christ (Gal 3:28), together with his appeal to receive his friend Onesimus “no longer as a slave but as a beloved brother” (Phm 16), points to a vision of relationships shaped by mutual dignity rather than domination. The Book of Revelation likewise condemns an economy that trades in “human lives” alongside its luxury goods (Rev 18:13), exposing the moral bankruptcy of every system that treats persons as the merchandise of capital.
Human trafficking also reveals that sin is both personal and structural. Criminal networks bear direct responsibility, but exploitation flourishes wherever poverty, conflict, corruption, discrimination, insecure employment, forced migration, and consumer demand render vulnerable people disposable. Christian ethics therefore calls for both the prosecution of offenders and the transformation of the conditions that make trafficking possible.
These Scriptures leave no room for Christian indifference. Churches are called not only to condemn trafficking but also to embody an alternative beloved community where the vulnerable are protected, the stranger is welcomed, and survivors are restored with patience and hope. Congregations can educate themselves about trafficking, support organisations caring for survivors, advocate for vulnerable workers and migrants, encourage ethical purchasing, and pray for all engaged in prevention and recovery.
Australia is not immune. Human trafficking and modern slavery exist here through forced labour, debt bondage, sexual exploitation, and coercive employment practices. Churches are often among the first places where migrants, international students, refugees, and isolated people seek friendship and support. By recognising signs of exploitation and fostering communities of trust, local congregations can make a significant contribution to prevention, protection, and healing.
The Church’s task does not end when exploitation ends. Survivors often carry deep physical, emotional, and spiritual wounds. Christian communities can become places where dignity is patiently restored through friendship, practical assistance, pastoral care, and the assurance that no person’s identity is defined by what has been done to them. Faithful witness also requires churches to examine their own life, ensuring that their employment practices, safeguarding, governance, and stewardship reflect the justice they proclaim.
The deepest Christian response, however, is firstly theological. Genesis declares that every human being is created in the image and likeness of God (Gen 1:26–27). Human dignity is neither earned nor granted by society. It is God’s gracious gift to every person. Yet talk of the image of God also reminds us of our vocation. We are all created for communion with God, loving relationships with one another, responsible stewardship of creation, and participation in God’s great purposes. Trafficking violates not only human dignity but also the divine calling entrusted to every human life.
The final vision of Scripture offers hope beyond present injustice. Revelation contrasts the exploitative economy of Babylon, enriched by trading in “human lives,” with the New Jerusalem, the in-breaking kingdom where God dwells among his people and the nations are healed and restored to wholeness and tranquillity. As those who earnestly follow the way of Jesus, we resolutely oppose trafficking because we belong to that coming kingdom.
Every act of protection, advocacy, hospitality, and mercy anticipates God’s promised future, where every bearer of the divine image will live in freedom, justice, and peace.
If you’d like to learn more and get involved, here are some Christian organisations working to end human trafficking:
• Be Slavery Free (formerly STOP THE TRAFFIK Australia) – resources on prevention, ethical purchasing, modern slavery, and church engagement.
• ACRATH (Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans) – education, advocacy, ethical supply chains, and survivor support in Australia.
• International Justice Mission Australia – strengthening justice systems, rescuing victims, restoring survivors, and equipping churches for advocacy.
• Talitha Kum – the global Catholic network working to prevent trafficking, accompany survivors, and advocate for justice across more than ninety countries.
Rev Dr Rod Benson is General Secretary of the NSW Ecumenical Council and a minister of the Uniting Church in Australia serving at North Rocks Community Church in Sydney.
Image source: Catholic Outlook
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