A talk to the Club by Rotarian Cliff Grieve, on Tuesday, increased members’ awareness of the nature and extent of modern slavery in the United Kingdom and Worldwide.
Cliff, a member of the Rotary Club of Ashford, is Ambassador to Kent for the Rotary Action Group Against Slavery (RAGAS). The purpose of RAGAS is to drive issue awareness, empower member involvement and enable its community to take action to eradicate all forms of modern slavery and human trafficking … .
Cliff explained to us that, despite slavery being abolished in the UK in 1833, there are more slaves now than there have been at any time previously.
It is estimated that 1.8 people in every 1000 in the UK and 6.4 per 1000 worldwide 1 are victims of Modern Slavery. 25% of victims worldwide are children.
Modern slavery takes many forms:
- Human trafficking.
- Forced labour
- Criminal exploitation
- Sexual exploitation
- Organ trafficking
- Forced and early marriage.
- Domestic servitude
Modern Slavery is said to be ‘hidden in plain sight’ as we all come into contact with a victims in our daily lives. It is more prevalent in industries such as beauty, car wash, hospitality, construction, domestic and agricultural industrys as well as criminal activities such as the sex trade, organ trafficking and drugs.
County Lines is a particular type of criminal slavery in which children and young people are coerced into selling drugs on behalf of gangs. The victims may be groomed by offer of gifts such as a phone or new clothing. Once tricked into participating in the drug trade, the young people are forced to continue by intimidation or violence.
Cliff told us of some of the ways that victims of modern slavery can be spotted
- Some signs are physical:
- They may look anxious, dishevelled, or malnourished.
- They may have untreated injuries.
- Some signs are less obvious:
- Someone paying for their travel
- Someone speaking for them
- Perhaps they are picked up and dropped off from work at unusual times
- They may not be sure of their own address
- for criminal slavery
- having quantities of cash
- having new clothing
- using a new mobile phone
We can all play our part in helping people escape modern slavery and find protection and support to build a better life, by being akert to the signs and reporting suspected instances using the Stop the Traffik app.
Reference
- Walk Free Foundation, 2023, Global Slavery Index 2023, Nedlands, Australia