Be Her Freedom | A stand against slavery

Last Saturday I attended a very special event and that was Launceston's very first Be Her Freedom Ball. You may be wondering 'what does that even mean to Be Her Freedom?' Well the Ball is a fundraising event run by the Be Her's organisation, which stands for the abolishment of sexual slavery. They work in partnership with the A21 Campaign, which is an organisation that stands for abolishing injustice in the 21st century, focusing on the eradication of the modern day slave trade. The Be Her Freedom Ball is held to raise funds for this organisation and to create awareness about the slave trade industry, because sadly many people are unaware that slavery still exists today.

Here are some facts for you x
➳ 27 million people are in bondage across the globe, to put that into perspective Australia has a population of about 23 million.

➳ Only 1-2% of the victims get rescued. That percentage may seem small, and it is, but we need to remember that these numbers and percentages aren't JUST numbers and percentages. They are a representation of individual lives and any and every rescue is to be celebrated.

➳ This statistic is really sad. The average age of human trafficking victims is 12 years old. Especially considering many of these victims are young girls who have been sold into sexual slavery.

I don't know about you but all of this is not okay with me. People should not be owned and the raping of girls, young or old, should not be a profitable business.

As I mentioned before, the ball I attended raises money for the the A21 campaign. This organisation is incredible. They help gather and provide information for the authorities to catch people involved in the slave trade and free the victims. They have a team of lawyers to persecute the perpetrators which ensures they actually end up in prison. A21 also helps with the restoration of the survivors, both physically and emotionally. They also provide education for the survivors so they are better equipped for independent lives.
One thing I love about these organisations is that they don't look at statistics. They look at each individual life and see every rescue, every restoration as a miracle. I believe this is a beautiful attitude to have when tackling an issue of such a daunting size.

I really encourage you to learn more about this issue. I feel like in the blogging world we don't really talk about things like sexual slavery, it's all about feminism and becoming vegan at the moment. Don't get me wrong I think feminism is an extremely important cause I just think we shouldn't focus on just one issue at a time.

If you want to learn more about the Be Her's Organisation head over here.
And if you want to check out the A21 Campaign you can click here.
The A21 Campaign website has some amazing testimonials on it that are definitely worth hearing.

Thank you so much for reading. Awareness is so important for prevention and I encourage you to talk to your friends about it. 

Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. 

Lots of Love,

Rach xx 

Bonjour Paris x

Ah Paris... you always create interesting memories don't you?

 I have visited this city three times now but this was my first time without my parents, so you could say my experience was just a little bit different. Don't worry though, I wasn't on my own. My friend Sarah met up with me in London and after a few days of walking around London we caught the Eurostar across the channel so we could spend a few days walking around Paris. I had rented an apartment in the 10th Arrondissement so we could save money on food and it was quite a fun way to imagine what it would be like to live in Paris. Our apartment was a short walk away from the metro, which we quickly mastered and we were then only about ten stops from central Paris. This was Sarah's first trip to Paris so we went to the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, the Notre Dame and everywhere in between and along the Seine. I always find that Paris is an odd city. It's a truly beautiful city and is known for romance, however it feels a bit sold out. You can't go 50 meters without someone trying to sell you miniature eiffel towers or selfie sticks and it's not uncommon for you to catch a whiff of urine. It often feels like someone is always trying to trick you into giving you their money. That being said the architecture of Paris is beautiful, the history is interesting and the art is wonderful. Oh and the Laduree macarons are divine! And they bring you one step closer to living out your Blair Waldorf fantasy. Paris is just one of those places that if she's able to, every girl should visit at least once in their lifetime. 

I feel truly grateful that I've been able to visit this iconic city more than once and hopefully I'll be able to visit again xx