Self Conversations
(A Script)
Title: “When Freedom Becomes Currency: A Conversation on Modern Slavery in Technological Times”
Characters:
Ms. Ramfel Pacifico-Huggins – Academic Researcher, Political Scientist, and Humanitarian Advocate. She is conducting a field investigation into modern slavery, technology, and the criminalization of trans identities in Australia.
Sofiya Iya – A Trans Woman, Entrepreneur, and Survivor of Modern Slavery and Institutional Exploitation in Australia. Former owner of “The House of Sofiya.”, Former Miss Transsexual Australia 2013 and the 1st and only winner of the Best in National Costume Award representing Australia, when a country wins a best in national costume award in an international beauty pageant it means the country had found its true national identity and that makes Sofiya Iya the face of Australia.
[Scene opens in a formal interview setting, filmed for documentary and academic purposes.]
Ms. Ramfel Pacifico-Huggins:
Good afternoon. I’m Ms. Ramfel Pacifico-Huggins, academic researcher and founder of IYAI LTD. Today, we speak with Miss Sofiya Iya, a trans woman, digital innovator, and survivor of institutional abuse and what legally constitutes modern slavery under Australia’s Modern Slavery Act 2018. Welcome, Miss Iya. Thank you for your courage in joining us.
Sofiya Iya:
Thank you, Ms. Pacifico-Huggins. It’s an honor to finally speak the truth publicly, not just for myself – but for countless others like me.
Ms. Ramfel:
Let us begin with a simple question to frame this discussion for our viewers and academic community:
What exactly is “modern slavery” according to Australian law?
Sofiya:
Modern slavery, as defined by the Modern Slavery Act 2018, refers to situations where a person cannot refuse or leave work because of threats, violence, coercion, deception, or abuse of power. It includes forced labor, servitude, debt bondage, deceptive recruiting, and forced marriage. But in real life – especially for marginalized communities like mine – it’s more complex and institutionalized.
Ms. Ramfel:
When did you realize you had fallen into a situation that constituted modern slavery?
Sofiya:
At first, I didn’t. I was a high-performing individual in the adult industry. I invested heavily in myself – my health, my smile, my education, my digital innovations, my NFTs, even my physical well-being. I believed I was securing a future. But slowly, everything I built was taken – stripped – by an organized system that profiled, criminalized, and economically disabled me. My digital assets were seized. My business was bankrupted without cause. That’s when it dawned on me: I was no longer free. I was being harvested – intellectually, digitally, financially. And that is modern slavery.
Ms. Ramfel:
What made this experience unique to the trans community?
Sofiya:
Many in the trans community suffer identity fraud. We are often denied legal protections, pushed into informal economies, and then punished for thriving in them. We become targets – our identities weaponized. Once we rise – through tech, art, NFTs, or even just beauty and intelligence – we’re stripped down. Our enlightenment, our self-investment, is seen as a threat. That’s exploitation – when your very act of building a future is criminalized and dismantled.
Ms. Ramfel:
So to clarify for our academic viewers:
When does personal investment and innovation become grounds for exploitation?
And when does that legally constitute modern slavery?
Sofiya:
When your ability to benefit from your own work is taken from you. When your autonomy – over your identity, labor, property, and creations – is overridden through systemic abuse or targeted sabotage, especially by institutions meant to protect.
It becomes modern slavery when enlightened individuals – who invest in their future – are reduced to mere labor, stripped of rights, silenced, and denied justice.
Ms. Ramfel:
Finally, what do you hope changes through this testimony?
Sofiya:
That the world recognizes modern slavery isn’t just chains and sweatshops. It’s digital now. It’s political. And it’s systemic. For people like me – for trans innovators and survivors – freedom must mean ownership, dignity, and protection from institutional predation. That is the true test of modern civilization.
Ms. Ramfel (conclusion):
Thank you, Miss Iya. Your testimony not only sheds light on the grey zones of legality and exploitation but challenges us to redefine justice in a digital, so-called democratic society. Your voice, and those of others silenced like you, will shape the future of ethical governance.
[End Scene.]
