Slavery in the UK is an international issue

It is difficult to say just how many victims of slavery live in the UK. Whilst the UK slave population represents just a small portion of the millions of slaves around the world, slavery in the UK is an international issue.  

At the heart of many of the systems that support slavery in the UK is people trafficking. That’s not only the illegal movement of people across international borders – it’s often legal but carried out in a way that traps its victims. There are many forms of people trafficking, but they regularly involve deception, debt, and the control of vulnerable people by others – the very things that can lead to slavery.

I do not believe it would be possible to eradicate slavery in the UK or any nation without simply moving the problem elsewhere. Ending slavery is an international issue and will require worldwide action and co-operation amongst governments.

And we’ve got a long way to go: The police and Home Office acknowledge that there are no reliable estimates for the number of trafficked people in the UK, according to Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s report on Contemporary Slavery in the UK in 2007.

Similar Posts:

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• Victims suffer when slavery slips through the net