IJM Launches New "Time For Justice" Campaign in Australia
Sex Trafficking
Australian Attorneys Challenged to Donate Hourly Rate Charge to Combat Sex Trafficking in Cebu
In the month of October, International Justice Mission Australia is launching Time For Justice, a campaign set to be a hallmark of the Australian legal profession’s contribution to justice in the Asia-Pacific region.
In its inaugural year, Time For Justice rallies Australian legal practitioners to combat sex-trafficking in Cebu, The Philippines, through donating the equivalent of their hourly charge-out rate to sponsor local IJM lawyers and social workers working in Cebu.
"Globally, there are an estimated 2 million children exploited in the commercial sex trade. In Cebu, the Philippines, over a four year period we’ve seen an amazing 79% reduction in the prevalence of minors involved in that trade through the strengthening of the local justice system. Australian lawyers can play a vital role in seeing this progress consolidated and scaled – that’s why we’re launching Time For Justice," said Amber Hawkes, IJM Australia’s Chief Executive, Clayton Utz alumni and formerly solicitor with the Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. Ms Hawkes previously served as Special Counsel in IJM’s South Asia office combatting cases of modern day slavery.
"Essentially, a practitioner’s billable hour become a means of empowering lawyers in Australia to partner with their significantly under-resourced colleagues in the developing world who are committed to liberating the oppressed," Kimberley Randle, IJM Australia Strategic Partnership Manager and former solicitor at Clayton Utz and Armstrong Legal who is spearheading Time For Justice.
The campaign target is to raise $100,000 - the equivalent of the annual salary of five full-time local lawyers working to combat sex-trafficking in Cebu.
Since IJM Australia launched in May, King & Wood Mallesons, Clayton Utz, Norton Rose Fulbright and Baker & McKenzie have hosted boardroom lunches where over 60 partners, barristers, special counsel, senior associates, in house counsel and policy advisors have joined together to hear about the work of IJM Australia and Time For Justice. From those lunches, ambassadors for the campaign have been recruited to raise funds and awareness through Time For Justice in October.
"We are very proud to be an Ambassador for a campaign and organisation that provides justice for the most vulnerable in our world," said Emma Hoolahan, Clerk to Chambers at 9th Floor Windeyer Chambers.
About International Justice Mission Australia
International Justice Mission is a global organization that protects the poor from violence throughout the developing world. IJM partners with local authorities to rescue victims of
violence, bring criminals to justice, restore survivors, and strengthen justice systems. The largest non-profit organization of its kind, IJM combats slavery, sex trafficking, property grabbing, police abuse of power and sexual violence, working in nearly 20 communities throughout South and Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America.
IJM Australia joins in that mission globally and locally seeks to build a movement of Australians seeking justice. www.IJM.org.au
IJM Australia’s Chief Executive, Amber Hawkes and IJM’s Australia’s Strat
