Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps the Government has taken to raise public awareness of modern slavery and human trafficking.

The Government continues to use communications as an essential means of raising public awareness of modern slavery.

Building on the success of the 2014 ‘Slavery Happens Here’ campaign, the Home Office has carried out tailored communications activity to raise awareness of modern slavery in high-risk communities in the UK and overseas, most recently in Nigeria.

In September 2017, Crimestoppers and the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority launched a joint campaign to encourage the public to spot the signs of modern slavery and to report any suspicions to Crimestoppers.The Home Office also posts regularly about how to identify and report modern slavery on our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram social media channels.

In October 2017, the Government published awareness raising and victim identification guidance for public sector staff as well as signposting public sector organisations to training resources on modern slavery. In August 2017, the National Crime Agency held a media briefing to raise awareness of modern slavery and the response. As a result, the Modern Slavery Helpline received an unprecedented number of calls that month.

In January 2018 the National Crime Agency launched the Invisible People exhibition which uses striking images by an award-winning photographer to portray the signs of slavery and inform the public how to report it.

The display of modern slavery material in public areas is also a Government priority. Border Force, in collaboration with the Modern Slavery Helpline, has led a digital and print modern slavery campaign across UK ports and airports nationwide. The campaign provides advice and guidance about modern slavery for passengers and encourages greater disclosure to officers by vulnerable potential victims or passengers who may have seen something suspicious.