Cela

1

Jose Gonzalez-Cela Perez
Professor Mueller
Writing 150-07
20 September 2015

Modern Slavery

Modern slavery is a reality all around the world, not only in undeveloped

countries but also in the western world. But what is modern slavery? Modern
slavery is a way to own people, and there are four characteristics that differentiate
modern slavery from other violations of human rights. The four characteristics are:
making someone work by threatening them physically or psychologically, making
them property of someone, treating them as a thing, and not allowing them free
movement. Even in a modern society as the UK this is a prominent issue.

In 2013, law enforcement received 1,746 referrals of potential victims of

trafficking and slavery, which is an increase of 47% from the data of 2012 (Antislavery). The slavery and trafficking of people in the UK are in the agenda of the
news every day, with new cases every day. For example, there was a recent raid into
a factory in Rochdale (north from Manchester) where 20 foreign people were
working as slaves for 25 pounds a week and 80 hours a week.

An article from The Guardian, talks about the amount of people that are

victims of modern slavery in the UK, around 13,000 people. It also states a few ways
to fight against this issue. Modern slavery and human trafficking goes hand in hand,
and is a big issue in politics in the UK. In response of this issue, the UK is about to

Cela 2

pass a bill that will not punish them when they turn in their owners even if the
slaves are engaging in illegal jobs. David Cameron, prime minister of the UK,
explained the reason for the bill,
Ive been to see these houses on terraced streets built for families of four,
cramming in 15 people like animals. To those crime lords who think they can
get away with it, I say no, not in this country, not with this party With our
modern slavery bill were coming after you and were going to put a stop to it
once and for all. (qtd. in Elliot)
This quote demonstrates that modern slavery is a reality in the UK and the
government is taking a step forward to address this issue.

One way the bill will help combat slavery is by granting immunity to victims

from slavery of prosecution for minor offenses. Granting immunity will help to
assemble cases against the main slavery institutions. Sawyer, the lead officer on
slavery issues said, Its the only way from my perspective to get the best evidence
and to bring serious and organized criminals to book (Bowcott). This bill is
justifiable because it would be wrong to prosecute someone that is being forced to
do something against his or her will.

Many of the slaves are foreigners who are not aware of their rights. The

police force in the United Kingdom is being trained to identify those who are being
used as slaves, but it is a difficult job, because anyone can be suffering from this. The
College of Policings draft guidance states, victims are often very vulnerable but
may not appear to be so(Bowcott). Training on how to identify and apply the
indicators is essential to spot a potential victim(Bowcott). This is important

Cela 3

because many slaves do not realize they have rights and the police are trying to find
them in order to help them. Many slaves are afraid of the authority because they are
afraid of being deported. Some signs of slavery are, isolation, poor physical
appearance, poor living condition, unusual travel times, and the most concerning is
the reluctance to seek for help.

The bill will not cover all type of offenses; it will only cover minor offenses

that slaves are usually forced to commit, such as cannabis cultivation, prostitution
or immigration offenses. It will not cover major offenses such as a murder. But the
biggest advantage here will be that the immigration offenses will not be taken into
account, so that will help lots of foreigners that are afraid that they would be
deported if they speak out about the abuse they are suffering. At the present time,
slaves from outside the EU are four times less likely to be considered victims of
slavery than slaves within the EU in the UK for terms of their immigration status.

The countries where the majority of slaves come from are India, China,

Pakistan and Russia. Andrew Forester, the chairman of Walk Free(WFF), which is
campaigning to end slavery within a generation, stated:
There is an assumption that slavery is an issue from a bygone era. Or that it
only exists in countries ravaged by war and poverty. These findings show that
modern slavery exists in every country. We are all responsible for the most
appalling situations where modern slavery exists and the desperate misery it
brings upon our fellow human beings. The first step in eradicating slavery is to
measure it. And with that critical information, we must all come together
governments, businesses and civil society to finally bring an end to the most

Cela 4

severe form of exploitation. (qtd. in Elliot)
This quote means that not only poor countries or countries in war have slavery
problems, but all 167 countries of the study made by the WFF. The countries leading
in the fight against slavery are: Austria, Australia, Georgia, US, Ireland, The
Netherlands, Norway, The UK, Sweden, Switzerland and Brazil (Bowcott). Although
the bill does not specifically address the idea of measurement, the hope is that it will
encourage more people to report this abuse.

Even though the bill will not provide a way to measure slavery, there are

organizations such as the WFF that helps measuring the problem. The WFF
estimates that there are around 35.8 million people suffering from slavery
worldwide and from those, 1 in every 3 slaves is a child (WFF). In the UK the fact
that WFF facilitates to the public is that 1 in every 4 slaves is a child (Cohen), which
shows that the UK is below the world average, but still not good enough. Hopefully
the bill will encourage more of these children to speak out against their abuser and
justice will be made.

In conclusion, slavery is still a major problem in this world and there needs

to be steps taken to abolish it once and for all. The bill in the UK is a good
measurement because it helps protect slaves rather than punish them. This is
because they are able to speak out without fear of deportation or imprisonment.
Personally, I think every country in the world should pass a law and/or bill to try to
end modern slavery, and to punish those who take advantage of people in need.

Cela 5


Works Cited
Anti-slavery International. Slavery in the UK. Anti-slavery. Anti-slavery

International, n.d. Web. 26 Sep. 2015

Bowcott, Owen. Give slavery victims freedom from prosecution for minor crimes. The
Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited, 28 Jan. 2015. Web. 26 Sep. 2015
Cohen, Claire. Child slavery and Britain's shocking facts. The Telegraph. Telegraph
Media Group Limited, 14 Oct. 2014. Web. 26 Sep. 2015
Elliott, Larry. Modern slavery affects more than 35 million people. The Guardian.
Guardian News and Media Limited, 17 Nov. 2014. Web. 26 Sep. 2015
Press association. Three arrested after raid on slave factory in Rochdale. The
Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited, 15 Dec. 2014. Web. 26 Sep.
2015
Walk Free. What is modern slavery? Walk Free. Walk Free, 2015. Web. 26 Sep.
2015