Two councillors are asking colleagues to commit to making Brighton and Hove free of modern slavery.
Labour councillors Carmen Appich and Jackie O’Quinn said: “There are more slaves worldwide today than at the height of the Atlantic slave trade in the 18th century.
“That includes over 13,000 modern slaves in the UK today – and the number is growing.
“Modern slavery is a hidden crime and it is closer than we think.
“It is happening in every corner of the country – and that includes here.”
The most recent figures from Sussex Police said that there were 21 cases of modern slavery in Brighton and Hove in 2018-19.
Eighteen cases involved someone holding another person in slavery or servitude, two involved forced labour and one involved arranging travel with a “view to exploitation”.
Brighton and Hove’s comparatively high level of homelessness and rough sleeping can make people vulnerable to situations where they end up exploited, a council report said.
It listed other similar examples such as cuckooing, where vulnerable people’s homes are taken over and used by others for criminal activity.
And it mentioned “county lines” drug dealing which had led to young people being exploited.
Across Sussex, police said, there were 54 cases of modern slavery in the same year.
More than half of those being exploited were British, they said, with Albanians and Vietnamese people the next most commonly exploited.
The motion due to be proposed by the two councillors calls on the council to
- show strong leadership in tackling modern slavery
- train staff to recognise and respond to signs of slavery
- share intelligence and information to detect slavery
- support victims and survivors
- end slave-based labour in supply chains
- help build a slave-free economy
…
The motion was said to build on the council’s commitment two years ago to sign up to the Charter Against Modern Slavery.
The idea to sign up to the charter was put forward by former Labour councillors Julie Cattell and Emma Daniel.
The “virtual” meeting of the full council meeting is due to start at 4.30pm next Thursday (23 July). It is scheduled to be webcast on the council’s website.
Do the job you were hired to do…… stop grandstanding.
Dealing with slavery is a police matter. If homeless people are targets for such crimes how about dealing with the source issue of homelessness. This is your job…. how many permanent homes were provided by the council in the last fiscal year ? What outreach programs are actively running in the community to prevent homelessness ?
When was the last review of “homemove” platform actually done with regard to effective support for those who use the system rater than an effective way of restricting numbers to improve target figures.
Arabs in Saudi and Qatar frequently hire Filipina girls and when they begin their tenure confiscate their passports, and make them work 20 hours a day. Modern day slavery.
BLM are strangely silent about this…
More tosh from a council who can’t even empty bins or pull out weeds from the pavements
If you want to know where there are a lot of slaves and you really want to stop slavery forever then start with the Prisons and get the Government to stop their use of prisoners as slaves, as that’s all it is. Government Slavery.
Start with the hostels in Central Hove that are known to provide long-term accomodation for people who provide a rich seam of very cheap labour in this city. The gang masters even pick them up in broad daylight.