Thursday, January 30, 2020
Modern Slavery is still slavery
I have always thought the term 'modern slavery' is a bit disingenuous, as if it is significantly different from that in our near past. It still involves the loss of freedom, the taking away of human dignity, maltreatment and abuse - often sexual but also physical and mental abuse. The only difference is that it carries on out of sight, whereas before it was paraded openly.
We know that 'modern slavery' is going on all around us, as is the trafficking of men, women and children into this country to be enslaved. Getting a handle on the scale of this activity is difficult however, even for the authorities.
It comes as no surprise therefore, though that does not mitigate the horror, that the London Assembly’s police and crime committee has heard that there has been a more than tenfold increase in the number of people identified as victims of modern slavery and human trafficking in London, and more than 30% of all cases nationally are discovered in the capital.
As the Guardian reports, in London in 2018, the Metropolitan police recognised 2,346 people as victims of modern slavery, compared with 187 in 2013:
Of the 5,143 people referred by the Home Office for support after being identified as victims of slavery in 2017, about 1,500 were in London – almost three times the number in any other region or country in the UK.
In October, the Local Government Association reported an 807% rise in the number of child victims of modern slavery and human trafficking.
They say that the committee has also called on the Home Office to change the national referral mechanism, which is the gateway to getting support. They also want the London modern slavery partnership board, established in 2018, to develop a London-specific modern slavery strategy to improve the capital’s response to the problem.
Wales is a bit ahead of England in dealing with this problem but even here there is much more to do, especially in understanding its extent and informing people of what to look out for.
We know that 'modern slavery' is going on all around us, as is the trafficking of men, women and children into this country to be enslaved. Getting a handle on the scale of this activity is difficult however, even for the authorities.
It comes as no surprise therefore, though that does not mitigate the horror, that the London Assembly’s police and crime committee has heard that there has been a more than tenfold increase in the number of people identified as victims of modern slavery and human trafficking in London, and more than 30% of all cases nationally are discovered in the capital.
As the Guardian reports, in London in 2018, the Metropolitan police recognised 2,346 people as victims of modern slavery, compared with 187 in 2013:
Of the 5,143 people referred by the Home Office for support after being identified as victims of slavery in 2017, about 1,500 were in London – almost three times the number in any other region or country in the UK.
In October, the Local Government Association reported an 807% rise in the number of child victims of modern slavery and human trafficking.
They say that the committee has also called on the Home Office to change the national referral mechanism, which is the gateway to getting support. They also want the London modern slavery partnership board, established in 2018, to develop a London-specific modern slavery strategy to improve the capital’s response to the problem.
Wales is a bit ahead of England in dealing with this problem but even here there is much more to do, especially in understanding its extent and informing people of what to look out for.
