Then and now; Campaigning against Modern Slavery in Hull and the Humber

This series of blogs have been written to coincide with the Coming Home: William Wilberforce exhibition. On display the Ferens Art Gallery, the exhibition sees the return of the famously unfinished portrait of William Wilberforce by Sir Thomas Lawrence, loaned from the National Portrait Gallery. This is part of a nationwide project by the National Portrait Gallery to return works of famous Britons to the places that they are most closely associated with. The blog series will highlight some of the key stories in the exhibition, which also includes art work and objects from the collections of the Ferens Art Gallery and Wilberforce House Museum.

This blog has been kindly written by Andrew Smith, Humber Modern Slavery Partnership Co-ordinator. In it he gives an insight into the current situation regarding slavery and exploitation in the Humberside region, highlighting the ongoing legacy of Hull’s most famous campaigner William Wilberforce.

Times change; as does the seemingly endless tide of social and humanitarian injustice that weighs on some of the most vulnerable members of our communities. Brought to the forefront of the public consciousness once again and increasingly apparent this last decade is the global epidemic of modern slavery and human trafficking, here in Hull the focus and determination to fight is as stout as it has always been.

Hull has long played a leading role in campaigning to abolish slavery, from the work of William Wilberforce who was the leading parliamentary spokesperson in the movement to abolish the slave trade (1759-1833), to Christian preacher and antislavery advocate Salim Charles Wilson (c.1859-1946). Our efforts in Hull have always been focused on one aim, a safer community.

But where are we today?

Well in a somewhat fitting homage to the original Hull Anti-Slavery Committee, our efforts are channelled and coordinated in part by the Humber Modern Slavery Partnership based now at the Wilberforce Institute next to Wilberforce house museum on High street in our historic old town. Today's efforts are much more of a whole partnership response across statutory, third sector and business organisations. We still focus on the ideas of freedom, equality and social justice as our forebears did but in an updated and more contemporary way.

I have had the enormous pleasure to work in the social sector for the last ten years in my role as founder of a small local homeless charity after my own experience of losing everything. Our approach is holistic at its core, with the aim of, you guessed it, creating safer communities. Over this time I have seen our collective approach towards at risk adults and children change, mostly for the better, but I know you will agree that our task is harder than ever before.

It feels to me that poverty, destitution, homelessness, conflict, our fragile global economy, our unquenchable consumer greed and strained public services is making it almost effortless for organised crime groups to exploit our most vulnerable. Be it through forced or bonded labour, sexual exploitation or sex trafficking, county lines, domestic servitude or forced criminality, the trade in human misery is lucrative with often seemingly minimal risks for the perpetrators. The world has shrunk there is no doubt, and in many ways our now close-knit global community is more susceptible to crisis and abuse than ever before. It's often easy to feel like we live in a tiny Tupperware microclimate of depravity and injustice and some unseen power is holding the lid down so we can’t breathe. The time has come for us get together and punch some air holes in the side, or even lift the lid.

So what can we do?

I am certain we can use the positives of our condensed world to our advantage, much like exploiters and the countless menacing organised crime groups do. Using instant methods of communication, data sharing, awareness, training, campaigning and positive social action we can strengthen our net to protect victims and make sure the trade in human suffering is no longer a attractive prospect for these criminals. In Humberside we are working closely in partnership across the whole region better than ever, certainly in my professional life, to bring together everyone who can make a difference. Local authorities, the NHS, criminal justice organisations, charities, businesses, Hull university, the Wilberforce Institute, places of learning and worship and local support services share a vision of keeping people safe from abuse and making Humberside a hostile environment for would be exploiters.

Looking honestly at the factors that make people vulnerable to slavery will help us understand the steps we all need to take to make our communities more resilient. If we can prevent homelessness in more cases, empower children to say no to criminal gangs, or help people understand their healthcare entitlements for example, we will stop more people being in a situation of impending risk. Many young people and vulnerable groups on the fringes of our communities are not always aware of what support mechanisms we have in place to prevent crisis, they are simply put, slipping through the net.

Over the next few years we will continue to make unwavering strides to identify and plug these gaps in provision with meaningful and substantive solutions that will afford everyone with equal access to the full range of services that keep us all safe.

There is no place in Humberside for this woeful and rancid crime. A community is only as good as the people in it, I believe this wholeheartedly and I know by learning from our past, a spoonful of innovation and lashings of passion we have a recipe that will transform our region into a safe space for everyone regardless of social or economic status.

If you would like to know more about the work of the Modern Slavery Partnership you can email a.smith9@hull.ac.uk or visit www.humberantislave.co.uk.

The final event in the programme associated with the Coming Home: William Wilberforce exhibition is a talk by the Humber Modern Slavery Partnership. This will be held at the Wilberforce Institute on Thursday 16^th January. Entry is free and doors will open at 4:30pm.

To find out more about the stories and objects in the exhibition, visit ‘Coming Home: William Wilberforce,’ on display at Ferens Art Gallery until 19 January 2020.