Anti-Slavery Day takes place every year on October 18, and is an opportunity to raise awareness of the fact that more than 122,000 men, women and children in the UK, are trapped in conditions of modern slavery.
Anti-Slavery Day (18th October) is an annual opportunity for churches, businesses, charities, and individuals to consider afresh what they can do to eliminate modern slavery in their communities.
Could you organise a special church service (see liturgy and resources below) for the Sunday nearest 18th to encourage people to think about what they could do to raise awareness of modern slavery? Perhaps you could coordinate a creative stunt in your community such as lighting your building red to highlight the need for slavery to STOP or arrange a march or art exhibition.
The Clewer Initiative is enabling Church of England dioceses and wider Church networks to develop strategies to detect modern slavery in their communities and help provide victim support and care.
How can you help?
- Encourage your PCC members to complete the Modern Slavery and Human trafficking module on the Church of England's Safeguarding Portal.
- Sign up to The Clewer Initiative’s newsletter.
- Download a range of awareness raising materials from the Clewer Initiative - posters and leaflets available in multiple languages - to help others in spotting the signs and reporting modern slavery.
- In addition, there is a new training course and poster set to equip church safeguarding officers, chaplaincies and church members to recognise and respond to modern slavery in the care sector, as well as a range of resources to support Parish Safeguarding Officers in their vital work.
Make it Slavery Free
The Clewer Initiative has worked closely with clergy from across the UK to pool together some resources for use at Anti-Slavery Day services. These resources can be used at any time in the year when you wish to hold a special service for the effort to end modern slavery.