Anti-Slavery Week takes place from 14 October this year, with the aim of raising awareness that an estimated 122,000 people in the UK are trapped in conditions of modern slavery.
Modern slavery is happening in Warwickshire and can take many forms, including the trafficking of people, forced labour, servitude, and slavery.
Warwickshire County Council (WCC) is committed to preventing slavery and human trafficking in all its corporate activities and supply chain management.
WCC has approved its updated Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking statement for the financial year 2023/24, which re-states its commitment to using its powers, influence and responsibilities to prevent and act against modern slavery.
The purpose of the Statement is to report on the Council’s actions to identify, assess risk, and take mitigating steps to prevent the occurrence of modern slavery, human trafficking and other human rights abuses in its supply chains and procurement activity, and key corporate policies. The current Statement gives an overview of actions taken in 2023 to 2024 and highlights priority actions for 2024 to 2025.
The full Statement is a legal requirement under Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 which requires organisations which supply goods or services and have a total turnover of not less than £36m to develop a slavery and human trafficking statement each year.
Modern slavery is the illegal exploitation of people for personal or commercial gain. It’s often a hidden crime, where people are tricked, coerced or forced and lose their freedom. It’s sometimes known as contemporary slavery.
Modern slavery is always a serious violation of a person’s human rights. Even if a victim consents and is willing to be moved, trafficking could still be taking place. It involves either the threat of harm or actual harm to the person themselves or their family.
Modern slavery can take many forms, including:
- Domestic exploitation
- Human trafficking
- Labour exploitation/forced labour
- Debt bondage/bonded labour
- Descent-based slavery
- Slavery of children
- Sexual exploitation
- Forced and early marriage
- Illegal adoption
- Criminal exploitation – forced begging, forced benefit fraud, and county lines.
Nearly 50 million people live in modern slavery across the world today. There is no typical victim of slavery; they can be individuals of any age, gender, ethnicity or nationality. However, it’s normally more prevalent among those who may be particularly vulnerable or belong to minority or marginalised groups. Signs of various types of slavery and exploitation are often hidden, making it hard to recognise potential victims.
Although WCC assesses the likelihood of slavery and human trafficking as low, given the nature of its operations, it remains alert to potential risks. The Council, through its procurement policy, strategy, and guidelines, maintains high expectations for its supply chains.
Councillor Izzi Seccombe, Leader of Warwickshire County Council said:
“Warwickshire County Council strongly condemns all form of modern slavery and human trafficking. We are steadfast in our commitment to ensuring Warwickshire remains a county where every individual can live safe, happy, healthy lives with dignity and independence. By continuing to work closely with our partners, we will ensure perpetrators of this abhorrent crime are held accountable and that we protect those at risk, as well as providing a safe space for victim-survivors to be celebrated within our diverse and inclusive communities.”
WCC and other Safer Warwickshire Partnership Board members are involved in a range of activity and collaborative work to tackle modern slavery in the county.
To find out more and to report modern slavery incidents, visit https://safeinwarwickshire.com/crime-anti-social-behaviour/modern-slavery-human-trafficking.
Warwickshire businesses are also being asked to sign a pledge to help combat modern slavery in their business. Find out more at https://warwickshirebusinesswatch.co.uk/modern-slavery.