Make It Slavery Free

This year, Anti-Slavery Day falls on Tuesday 18th October. To mark Anti-Slavery Day, we invite churches, communities, businesses and individuals to sign-up to the pledge to Make It Slavery Free.

In the UK, thousands of men, women and children are trapped in modern slavery and although it is a crime, it is present in every community.

Whether you’ve been working on anti-slavery projects for years or are only just hearing about this heinous crime for the first time, we can all do something to help make our communities Slavery Free.

Take the pledge

Any action, no matter how small, could change or save the life of somebody in desperate circumstances. We therefore invite you to take a pledge to commit to delivering three anti-slavery actions this year. This could include setting up a social action project, making a commitment to ethical purchasing or simply using the Safe Car Wash App.

As part of the campaign, we have created Make It Slavery Free posters which are available to order from Christian Publishing & Outreach. Some of these posters can be customised to include your name and the actions you will take. You can then display the poster in your church, business or anywhere to remind you of the steps you have committed to taking.

After you’ve committed to a pledge, why not share it with others and encourage them to get involved? There are also posters and flyers that you can order for free from Christian Publishing & Outreach.

Ideas to go Slavery Free

Here are some potential actions to commit to this year:

Safeguarding training – if you’re a Parish or Diocesan Safeguarding Officer, attending one of our safeguarding training sessions will give you the tools and knowledge to recognise and respond to issues relating to modern slavery. Find out more about our safeguarding training and sign-up to one of our courses.

Slavery-proof your social action projects – there are often many vulnerable people at church food banks, night shelters and even Mum & Baby drop-in centres. Some of the people using your social action projects may be victims of modern slavery and exploitation or could be targeted and recruited by traffickers whilst attending your project. Think about what safeguards you could implement to slavery-proof your social action project. We have a range of awareness-raising posters that you can order for free and display at your social action project.

Ensure that the hire of your church premises reflects good safeguarding practice – the Parish Safeguarding Handbook has an appendix that includes a Model Safeguarding Provision that can be attached to any Hire of Church Premises Agreement. This means that anyone hiring your church premises is required to ensure that children, young people and vulnerable adults are protected at all times.

Interrogate the supply chain – with the cost of living crisis squeezing our finances, it can be hard to commit to only purchasing Fairtrade products. However, companies want to satisfy their consumers so let them know how important a Slavery Free supply chain is to you - you can write to them or contact them on social media. If you’re hiring a contractor or cleaning staff, look out for tell-tell signs (such as only accepting cash) that their employer may be exploiting them. If you are concerned that someone in your church is a victim of labour exploitation, report it to your Parish Safeguarding Officer.

Use the Safe Car Wash App – did you know that the hand car wash sector has been repeatedly identified as a key sector for labour exploitation? Our Safe Car Wash App enables you to identify and report modern slavery at your hand car wash.

Aim for Net Zero Carbon – the climate emergency has seen many places become uninhabitable, forcing people to flee their homes and become refugees at risk of falling into the hands of traffickers. Reducing our carbon footprint as churches and individuals may help vulnerable communities thousands of miles away.