Make a difference in Anti-Slavery Week 2022

12th October 2022

Join Slave-Free Alliance and Hope for Justice in marking Anti-Slavery Week 2022.

Anti-Slavery Week 2022 runs from Monday 17 until Sunday 23 October. This year, your business can join Slave-Free Alliance and Hope for Justice events to help shine a spotlight on the hidden crime of modern slavery.

Meanwhile, Anti-Slavery Day is on 18 October every year.

What is modern slavery?

Modern slavery is the exploitation of people for personal or financial gain. People can become trapped in making clothes, picking crops or working in factories. Or they can be forced to become sex workers or work in houses as cooks, cleaners or nannies.

Victims can be any age, gender or from any country, including the UK. They might feel unable to leave because they are scared, or owe money to their exploiter. Some people might not think of themselves as a victim.

Fifty million people worldwide are trapped in modern slavery. Over 100,000 of these are in the UK. Globally, 23m people are in forced labour.

Types of modern slavery

Forced labour
Forced labour is typical in industries where a lot of labour is needed. For example, in clothing factories in Southeast Asia or fruit picking in the UK. People are forced to work or provide a service against their will, for little money or no wages at all.

Human trafficking
People are moved by force, threats or deception to be exploited. They may be made to commit crimes such as drug dealing, or trafficked to work in the sex industry.

Bonded labour (also known as debt bondage)
Bonded labour is when a person borrows money and is made to work to pay off the debt. Often, victims are trapped by exorbitant interest on the debt. Bonded labour is the world’s most common form of slavery.

Child slavery
Child slavery can include forced labour. Children might be forced to marry, or become sex workers or soldiers, or made to work in a household as servants.

Criminal exploitation
Criminal exploitation is when someone is forced to commit a crime such as growing cannabis, carrying drugs, shoplifting or fraud. Victims can feel unable to escape because they are worried they might be prosecuted.

Forced marriage
It is estimated that 22m people are living in forced marriages – including in upper-middle income and high-income countries. The true figure is thought to be far greater, when including children aged 16 and under.

What can Anti-Slavery Week do?

Anti-Slavery Week raises awareness of modern slavery. It encourages us to engage with colleagues, customers, suppliers and partners and address modern slavery in our operations and supply chains.

Hope for Justice – the parent charity of social enterprise Slave-Free Alliance – is fighting human trafficking and helping victims and survivors around the world. Its work is made possible thanks to a growing global collective of people and businesses.

Anti-Slavery Week 2022 events

Tuesday 18 October
LinkedIn Live: Modern Slavery and the ESG agenda Q&A
Get answers to modern slavery and ESG [environmental and social governance] questions from Slave-Free Alliance and Hope for Justice specialists.

Tuesday 18 October
Modern-Day Slavery: Hidden In Plain Sight
Learn how Hope for Justice is working to tackle the issue of modern slavery, and its involvement in the UK’s largest trafficking case. Also, find out how you can spot signs of slavery and take action to end it.

Wednesday 19 October
Tackling Modern Slavery in the Fashion Industry
This Zoom event will help students and young professionals understand modern slavery.

Thursday 20 October
Roundtable – Modern Slavery and the ‘S’ in ESG
Join Slave-Free Alliance and Hope for Justice specialists to deep dive into modern slavery.

Learn more and register at the Hope for Justice page.

Sign the Coalition to Stop Slavery petition

Coalition to Stop Slavery is a coalition of UK-based voluntary, community and statutory groups whose goal is to end modern slavery and human trafficking for good.

You can sign the Coalition to Stop Slavery petition here.

Also see Anti-Slavery International.