Heathfield Benefice

The Church of England in Your Community

Modern Day Slavery

October 18th was Anti-slavery Day and St Richard’s MU invited Derek Nichols to give us an update on modern day slavery at our meeting that followed the service. He introduced his talk by giving us some background on the slave trade from days gone by to the present day. Derek informed us that in today’s world, despite the abolition of the slave trade more than 200 years ago, there are still an estimated 40.3 million men, women and children worldwide trapped in modern day slavery with some 136,000 potential victims in the UK. He asked if we had heard about The Clewer Initiative ‘We See You’ a campaign that a religious order, The Clewer Sisters, are running in conjunction with the Church of England and other faiths, the police, local government, charities and the Mothers’ Union to raise awareness of modern slavery amongst the general public in an effort to stamp out this crime and protect victims. 

 

Derek told us that there is no typical victim and slaves can be of any age, race, or gender. Their wages, passports and ID are usually confiscated by those controlling them so they are unable to leave or work elsewhere. He talked us through some of the areas of exploitation, as described by The Clewer Initiative, where slaves are often found working which includes:


 


Some of the signs to look for:  


A reluctance for modern slaves to seek help doesn't mean they don't want to. They may be afraid being threatened with violence to themselves or their family by the people controlling them and they may be unsure about where to get help or fear deportation if they contact the police. 

 

Modern slavery destroys both individual’s and family life and the Mothers’Union, whose aim is to support family life, are helping The Clewer Initiative in their effort to raise awareness and is urging all of us to take action if we think someone might be a victim of modern slavery by contacting, in confidence, the Modern Slavery Helpline
0800 0121 700 or report suspicious activity to the police on the non-emergency number 101 or dial 999 if the victims are in immediate danger.  

 

For more information visit  www.clewerinitiative.com or www.mothersunion.org
 

 

Article written by Nora Millward, St Richard’s Mothers’ Union
 

 


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