Tuesday 18th October is Anti-Slavery Day and a chance to raise awareness of modern slavery.
I have been working in this area since February 2014 when I became Minister for Modern Slavery and Organised Crime at the Home Office bringing in the Serious Crime Act and securing the passing of the Modern Slavery Act in 2015.
I am now Co-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Human Trafficking & Modern Slavery and also a Trustee of the Human Trafficking Foundation which was established to support the many agencies and charities operating to combat human trafficking.
I am also honoured to have been selected to represent the UK Parliament on many occasions abroad with other Parliamentarians from around the world on this important issue.
There are various events taking place around Anti-Slavery Day and I was pleased to take part in an event in Parliament to mark the launch of Action Asylum, a project which has received a £400,000 National Lottery Award and offers asylum seekers the opportunity to contribute to their communities while waiting for refugee status. The pilot programme involved 3,000 volunteers nationwide in tree-planting, beach cleans and community improvements.
Another event taking place is the Anti-Slavery Day Awards hosted by the Human Trafficking Foundation. The HTF hosts these Awards every year to celebrate the work done by the media to highlight important issues of human trafficking, and those who have made an outstanding contribution to the fight against modern slavery.
I am also working together with charities and other organisations to try and add some human trafficking messages to a TV channel that has been set up in the Ukraine for children. This is following the many calls with MPs and Senators from the Ukraine and Poland regarding the trafficking risk to the many children currently displaced in Ukraine.
