Anti-Slavery day
Today has been designated as Anti-Slavery day.
Sadly slavery is not just something you find in the history books. It's not even confined to areas run by rogue organisations like DA'ESH or Boko Haram. Modern slavery has changed form and exists where you might least expect it. Many of the victims are children.
Here is a graphic from the Anti-Slavery campaign indicating the estimated scale of the problem of child trafficking in Britain last year:
Many government buildings, including 10 Downing Street and the Home Office, have been lit op in red to show support for Anti-Slavery Day 2018, while companies like BT have been lighting up buildings like the BT Tower in London.
Other landmarks and Business headquarters which have been similarly lit up around the UK included Manchester’s Co-Op HQ, Bristol’s Old Vic Theatre and Nottingham Trent’s Cricket Ground.
A message on the information band at the top of the BT tower has been promoting the Anti-Slavery helpline, run by the charity Unseen, which has received more than 10,000 calls since it launched two years ago. And it’s led to the identification of more than 11,000 potential victims in the UK.
Businesses with a turnover of more than £36 million must publish annual transparency statements, known as a Modern Slavery Statement, setting out what they are doing to stop modern slavery and forced labour practices occurring in their business and supply chains. Many have done so.
Such action can include taking part in the Home Office’s Business Against Slavery Forum, or taking part in Tech Against Trafficking, a coalition of technology companies and global experts working to use technology to help eradicate human trafficking.
So the Home Office is writing directly to chief executives of 17,000 businesses telling them to open up about modern slavery in their supply chains, or risk being named as in breach of the law.
The minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability, Victoria Atkins said:
"It is horrible to think some of the goods and services we buy could have been produced by someone forced into modern slavery. This is abhorrent and as global leaders in the fight against modern slavery, we will not tolerate it.
Some businesses are already leading the way in taking action by being open and transparent about what they are doing to identify, tackle and prevent forced labour in their supply chains, but too many are still failing to meet their basic legal obligations.
"That’s why the Home Office is sending letters to businesses today with a clear message that continued non-compliance will not be tolerated.
The Home Office has published the Modern Slavery Annual Report 2018.
Sadly slavery is not just something you find in the history books. It's not even confined to areas run by rogue organisations like DA'ESH or Boko Haram. Modern slavery has changed form and exists where you might least expect it. Many of the victims are children.
Here is a graphic from the Anti-Slavery campaign indicating the estimated scale of the problem of child trafficking in Britain last year:
Many government buildings, including 10 Downing Street and the Home Office, have been lit op in red to show support for Anti-Slavery Day 2018, while companies like BT have been lighting up buildings like the BT Tower in London.
Other landmarks and Business headquarters which have been similarly lit up around the UK included Manchester’s Co-Op HQ, Bristol’s Old Vic Theatre and Nottingham Trent’s Cricket Ground.
A message on the information band at the top of the BT tower has been promoting the Anti-Slavery helpline, run by the charity Unseen, which has received more than 10,000 calls since it launched two years ago. And it’s led to the identification of more than 11,000 potential victims in the UK.
There is a supporting smartphone app, which BT developed and helped launch in July, and which has been downloaded thousands of times and has already been used to identify 25 potential victims.
You can download the Unseen app from UK app stores. It provides simple guidance on how to spot the signs of modern slavery and an easy, confidential way to report it or get advice.
Businesses with a turnover of more than £36 million must publish annual transparency statements, known as a Modern Slavery Statement, setting out what they are doing to stop modern slavery and forced labour practices occurring in their business and supply chains. Many have done so.
Such action can include taking part in the Home Office’s Business Against Slavery Forum, or taking part in Tech Against Trafficking, a coalition of technology companies and global experts working to use technology to help eradicate human trafficking.
At the moment, it is estimated that 60% of companies in scope have published a statement. Whilst there are many examples of good practice, some of these statements are poor in quality or fail to even meet the basic legal requirements.
So the Home Office is writing directly to chief executives of 17,000 businesses telling them to open up about modern slavery in their supply chains, or risk being named as in breach of the law.
The minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability, Victoria Atkins said:
"It is horrible to think some of the goods and services we buy could have been produced by someone forced into modern slavery. This is abhorrent and as global leaders in the fight against modern slavery, we will not tolerate it.
Some businesses are already leading the way in taking action by being open and transparent about what they are doing to identify, tackle and prevent forced labour in their supply chains, but too many are still failing to meet their basic legal obligations.
"That’s why the Home Office is sending letters to businesses today with a clear message that continued non-compliance will not be tolerated.
The Home Office has published the Modern Slavery Annual Report 2018.
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