Leigh Turner. Part of UK in Austria. More than years ago William Wilberforce led Britain in the fight against slavery — opening the eyes of the world to the horrors and indignity of human servitude. Today, the world is still grappling with tackling modern-day forms of slavery. Within Europe, victims can be found in nail bars, car washes, in sheds, fields and brothels.
Exploitation is taking place on a daily basis. Recent estimates suggest that there are between 10, and 13, victims in the UK alone and 45 million across the world. These are vulnerable people who have travelled believing they were heading for legitimate jobs to find they have been duped, forced into hard labour, and then locked up and abused. Innocent people are being forced into prostitution, often by people they thought they could trust. Recently, a 7-year-old boy was found and rescued in North London.
He had been held as a domestic slave. Other children are raped, beaten and passed from abuser to abuser for profit. The Act delivered tough new penalties to put slave masters behind bars where they belong, with life sentences for the worst offenders. The Act delivered enhanced protection and support for victims and a world-leading transparency requirement on businesses to show that modern slavery is not taking place in their companies or their supply chains.
But, whilst having the right legislation is crucial, it is only one part of the jigsaw in stopping modern slavery. Modern slavery is a global phenomenon that knows no geographical boundaries and requires an international response. So, we need a new, comprehensive approach, working with international partners, to defeating this vile and systematic international business model at its source and transit.
That is why the UK is stepping up its co-operation on this issue with our counterparts in government, law enforcement and civil society across Central and Eastern Europe. So I was delighted to host in Vienna on February the first of a series of workshops in Vienna, Sofia and Warsaw to bring together actual practitioners — police, interior ministries, border forces and international police organisations including Europol and SELEC.
