Every year on 18 October, people around the world mark Anti-Slavery Day; a campaign set-up to help spread awareness of this heinous crime.
It’s been over 200 years since the slave trade was abolished in the UK, but there could still be up to 130,000 men, women, and children trapped in Modern Slavery happening right now. It’s all around us, and exists within every community.
Some instances of modern slavery are hidden in plain sight, most notably those in cash heavy industries like hand car washing and construction where vulnerable people can have their labour exploited for very little return.
The Clewer Initiative, a Church of England project exists to take action against modern slavery, is encouraging churches, businesses, and individuals this October (and beyond) to take a stand against this forced exploitation.
"We envisage working towards a slavery-free community in the same way that we are all working towards net zero carbon." - The Clewer Initiative,
As part of their Anti-Slavery Day 2022 campaign, ‘Make It Slavery Free’, they are asking people to commit to three anti-slavery actions over the next year.
These actions can be anything that:
- brings your community a step closer to being slavery free
- holding local workshops to spread awareness
- signing up to one of the Clewer Initiative safeguarding training courses.
The Clewer Initiative is also offering Make It Slavery Free toolkits to those taking up the challenge, providing advice, customizable pledge posters, bible study resources, and social media assets to help you spread the word.
If you’d like to find out more about Anti-Slavery Day, or pledge ideas, click here.