Modern slavery is happening everywhere and that means human trafficking, slavery, forced labour, and domestic servitude.
Victims tend to be vulnerable people either from the UK or abroad. Some of the industries associated with enslavement include brothels, farms, service industries and nail bars, and all have a common theme of people being coerced to work against their will.
The Modern Slavery Act is now in force but many regions are only now shaping their responses to incidents of slavery by identifying the single point of contact for front-line staff within key service areas such as the NHS, police, children’s services, education and charities, supporting those who are abused, homeless or otherwise disadvantaged.
In addition, information from the community, no matter how small or insignificant can play a vital role in tackling modern slavery. If you see something suspicious call the police on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. For victim support, The Salvation Army offer a 24-hour confidential referral helpline on 0300 303 8151.
Some of the signs to look out for include:
- Several adults who are not related living at a single address
- People being regularly collected very early in the morning and/or returned late at night
- Signs of injury, malnourishment and a general unkempt appearance
- Isolation from the rest of the community
- People who live and work at the same address under poor conditions
- Women kept within houses where there are large numbers of male visitors
Click here to find out more about definitions of modern slavery.
Campaign Update
The Hull Marathon is on September 13th - come than see us, we will be near the monument! We have 24 runners: 4 individual runners and 5 relay teams running to raise funds to light the monument and highlight the issues associated with past and modern day slavery. Please support them by sponsoring at our Virgin Money Giving page.
Our teams are named after past and present day abolitionists and these are:
- Elizabeth Heyrick - one of the few female abolitionists famed for the sugar boycotts and pushing for immediate rather than gradual abolition
- Olaudah Equiano - a slave who bought his own freedom and then pressed for reforms in the treatment of slaves and for abolition using his own story
- Thomas Clarkson - who devoted 61 years of his life in working for abolition and was instrumental throughout the movement for gathering first-hand evidence and artifacts that demonstrated the evil of slavery
- Aidan McQuade - current director of Anti-Slavery International, the world’s oldest human rights organisation which works to eradicate all forms of slavery
- Kevin Bales of Free the Slaves and Professor of Contemporary Slavery at the Wilberforce Institute for the study of Slavery and Emancipation (WISE) at the University of Hull. He works to advise governments and is a key contributor to the Global Slavery Index. Read more about them here.
