To our shame, slaves are being raped, beaten and starved in towns up and down the UK says Iain Duncan Smith, as he backs Sun’s Stamp Out Slavery Campaign
MEN working 20-hour days at the car-wash, women forced to paint nails or risk being beaten at suburban salons, young girls trapped, beaten and abused in brothels – it sounds like something out of a horror film.
But, to our shame, an estimated 136,000 men and women are living like this in the UK right now - they are victims of modern slavery - and they need our help.
Over the past fortnight, as part of their Stamp Out Slavery campaign, the Sun has told the stories of men and women like Elvira, who are brought over to the UK and forced to work as domestic and forced labour slaves.
Elvira was forced to work for 20 hours a day for her slave masters. She, like Brenda, who came over to the UK to send money back to her family in Asia, are forced to cook and clean for little or no pay, and are stripped of their basic human rights.
We have seen how others, trafficked in by eastern European or Russian gangs, are forced to work as manual labourers - often in cheap car washes, some which are unsafe, risking illnesses from chemicals and even death.
This was the case for Sandu, who was tragically electrocuted and killed in the flat he shared with five other workers behind the car-washing site they worked at for 12 hours a day.
In some cases these innocent people are promised jobs that will give them a better life, only to find themselves dropping off fake charity collection bags for rings of criminals, and savagely beaten if they refuse.
It’s terrible that this can be happening in our country in 2019, that these victims are being brought over to this country and subjected to such brutal exploitation and violence.
I know Sun readers will back this campaign with me. The real hardworking people of this country have always had a sense of natural justice and when something is wrong, they call it out.
Iain Duncan Smith
I am backing the Sun's Stamp Out Slavery campaign - which calls to change the amount of time victims are allowed to remain in the UK, - because I truly believe we have to do more to help and treat victims of modern slavery .
I know Sun readers will back this campaign. The hardworking people of this country have always had a sense of natural justice and when something is wrong, the British call it out.
The abuse of these innocent people happened right here in the United Kingdom, so we owe it to them to also rectify that here on UK soil.
Whilst Brexit takes up so much news time this issue cannot be heard.
I have an anti-slavery bill waiting to get through Parliament but it cannot because as we debate Brexit hour after hour and we cannot find the time. Yet if we now back the Sun’s campaign maybe we can change all that and really save lives.
45 days is an injustice to the helpess
Our current laws don't go far enough to protect victims of slavery.
They only have 45 days government support - including financial, housing and medical assistance - but this is simply not enough time to recover from the mental and physical abuse they have suffered.
The Sun wants to Stamp out Slavery
Slavery takes a variety of forms, but most commonly forced labour, sexual exploitation, domestic work or forced criminal activity.
The Home Office estimated that there are 13,000 people held in slavery in the UK, with the Global Slavery Index suggesting the figure could be as many as 136,000.
The UK recognised a staggering 5,145 victims from 116 countries in 2017, including adults who had been used for organ harvesting and children that were forced into sexual exploitation.
At present, trafficked victims have just 45 days support after being freed before they are expected to leave the UK and are deported by the Home Office.
During this short time, they are given accommodation, financial aid, medical treatment, counselling, a support worker, a translator and legal advice.
We want the government to:
Back Lord McColl's proposed bill, which suggests all victims of modern slavery should be given a year's support to recover.
Alongside that they should be given special support to help them, including housing benefits, financial help and other services.
It needs to be changed... now - we cannot sit back and watch this happen.
While they are given access to accommodation, counselling and legal advice, little, if anything, can be done to help in 45 days to reverse what is sometimes years of horror - it is a total injustice to those who need our help.
I believe we should have a system that offers victims a period - as Lord McColl’s proposed bill says - of about 12 months to remain here and be supported.
Are they safe to go home?
Having extra time in the UK means victims can consider whether going back to their home country is an option - or whether the threats they are likely to face by returning outweigh the need for them to stay.
In a sense, they move from being victims of slavery to becoming asylum seekers - but these victims come in small numbers - this is not like migration, and they have faced terrible abuse.
HELP STAMP OUT SLAVERY
Want to help? Here are some of the possible warning signs to look for, according to the Modern Slavery Helpline:
- Domestic slaves may be held in their employer's home and forced to carry out tasks such as childcare, cooking and cleaning
- They may not be allowed to leave the house on their own, or they may be monitored
- The person may work long working hours
- They may not have access to their own belongings, such as a mobile phone or their own ID
- The employer may be abusive, both physically and verbally
- The person may not interact often with the family they are employed by
- A domestic slave may be deprived of their own personal living space, food, water or medical care
- They may wear poorer quality clothing compared to other family members
Suspicious? You can call the Modern Slavery Helpline on 08000 121 700, or fill in an online report at:
We should be holding out for Lord McColl’s bill for victims rights to stay for 12 months minimum, which even though I think is still quite short, does give the victims more help.
more stories
We owe these poor people a real chance of stability and protection, and at the moment we in the United Kingdom clearly do not give them that.
We can’t sit back and watch on when there is injustice happening on home soil. We must rectify that. The government has got to listen now.
You can sign the petition for the Modern Slavery Victim Support Bill .