International Students Fall Prey to Sexual Exploitation in Australia

The anti-slavery commissioner is warning Australian universities about forced labour and sexual exploitation against international students.
International Students Fall Prey to Sexual Exploitation in Australia
A "service provider" at a Sydney brothel stands in a window in Sydney, Australia, on Sept. 1, 2006. Ian Waldie/Getty Images
Alfred Bui
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Universities in New South Wales (NSW) have been warned about instances of sexual exploitation among international students amid a strong comeback of the international education sector.

NSW Anti-Slavery Commissioner James Cockayne recently wrote to 10 universities in the state, informing them about cases of exploitation against international students. He expressed concern that authorities were falling behind in tackling the issue, as reported by The Australian newspaper.

“We’ve seen situations of forced labour, deceptive recruiting, debt bondage, sexual servitude, international trafficking, and domestic trafficking, and that’s just among the international student cohort,’’ he said.

“We’ve seen instances of international students forced to marry once here. People have been–through fraud, force, or coercion–forced to take work that they haven’t agreed to do.’’

The commissioner said there were many reasons why many international students fell victim to criminals’ exploitation practices: language barriers, poverty, a lack of family support, and an understanding of Australian laws.

The problem was exacerbated by the housing crisis and rising living costs, which pushed many international students into risky situations, he added.

“We see what we believe is significant under-reporting of forced labour, deceptive recruiting, and debt bondage in the inter­national student cohort because they’re fearful of losing visa status,’’ he said.

“They’re fearful of retaliation against themselves, or in some situations, the family offshore.”

Mr. Cockayne said some dodgy education providers and agencies might be involved in recruiting international students for illegitimate purposes.

Nevertheless, the commission acknowledged that many universities in NSW had taken measures to prevent the exploitation of international students.

While international students are vulnerable to exploitation, migrants and even domestic workers can also fall prey to unscrupulous employment practices.

According to the Australian Federal Police (AFP), there has been a 50 percent increase in forced labour crimes in the country in the past five years.
Some sectors, such as agriculture, construction, hospitality, and manufacturing, had the highest risk of forced labour and exploitation.

Strong Recovery of International Education Sector

Mr. Cockayne’s warning comes as Australia’s international education sector has rebounded strongly after the Labor government reopened the borders in 2022.
Recent government data revealed that 713,000 people were on student visas in Australia in February 2024.

The figure broke the previous record of 664,178 in September 2023 and marked the first time that the number of international students hit the 700,000 milestone.

The influx of international students came despite the government’s efforts to curb the massive flow of migrants, which resulted from its post-COVID-19 pandemic policies.

In November 2023, the Labor government introduced an ambitious migration plan to reduce migration to near pre-pandemic levels.

As part of the strategy, the government would target student visa holders who prolong their stay in Australia without a clear pathway to permanent residency.

To solve the problem of “permanent temporariness,” the government wanted to shorten graduate visas and end settings that allowed graduates to prolong their stay in Australia when they were less likely to become permanent residents.

The migration reforms also aimed to improve the quality and integrity of Australia’s international education sector by raising the minimum English language requirements for student and graduate visas.

Alfred Bui
Alfred Bui
Author
Alfred Bui is an Australian reporter based in Melbourne and focuses on local and business news. He is a former small business owner and has two master’s degrees in business and business law. Contact him at [email protected].