Theresa May Photo: PA By Theresa May8:10AM GMT 24 Nov 2013
It is all around us, hidden in plain sight. It is walking our streets, supplying shops and supermarkets, working in fields, factories or nail bars, trapped in brothels or cowering behind the curtains in an ordinary street: slavery.
Something most of us thought consigned to history books, belonging to a different century, is a shameful and shocking presence in modern Britain.
While overall crime is falling, figures show the number of victims of slavery has risen 25 per cent over the past year. And it is a crime that has a terrible and disproportionate impact on its victims.
We still don’t know the facts behind the case in London this week. Details are still emerging, the investigation is ongoing and must be allowed to take its course. Whatever the outcome, the one positive is that it has raised awareness of the issue of slavery in the public and media mind.
The first step to eradicating the scourge of modern slavery is acknowledging and confronting its existence. The second is accepting it is the responsibility of us all to abolish it once and for all. Because modern slavery is an affront not just to the dignity and humanity of the individuals crushed by it, but of every single one of us.
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Tackling this abhorrent crime is a personal priority for me.
As well as improving the way victims are identified and supported, I want to prevent future victims.
And the best way to protect and reduce the number of victims is to disrupt, convict and imprison the criminal gangs behind much of the modern slave trade.
That is why I have made combating trafficking central to our Serious and Organised Crime Strategy and a priority for the new National Crime Agency.
And it is why I am introducing a Modern Slavery Bill to consolidate and strengthen legislation.
The Bill will be the first of its kind in Europe.
It will increase the maximum sentence for trafficking offences to make sure the worst perpetrators get a life sentence.
It will introduce trafficking prevention orders to restrict the activity of offenders when they are released so that they cannot cause further harm.
And it will create an Anti-Slavery Commissioner to hold everyone involved in stopping this crime and helping victims to account.
To aid the process of pre-legislative scrutiny and to help us get the Bill right, I have asked Frank Field MP to lead a series of evidence sessions this autumn to ensure the views of experts from law enforcement, charities, academia and the international stage are heard.
The Bill will be focused so we can get it on the statute books quickly and send the clearest possible message. If you are involved in this disgusting trade in human beings, you will be arrested, you will prosecuted and you will be locked up.
But modern slavery is not a problem that can be solved by legislation alone or by the end of this Parliament. We need to be open and honest about the challenges and complexities involved. The victims of slavery have varied backgrounds, different experiences and often complicated problems.
They can be men, women or children. British or foreign nationals. Trafficked for cheap labour, into prostitution, domestic servitude or forced into a life of crime. Some are also victims of physical or sexual abuse.
Some want to co-operate with the police, others are reluctant. Some have been trafficked with the knowledge and collusion of their own families.
Some want to return home others want to stay in the UK. Some victims do not even recognise that they are victims or have been trafficked.
Our response needs to be careful and considered. There is no simple one size fits all approach.
We are already working with front-line professionals to help them better identify and support potential victims, with further training and guidance being rolled out. Police forces, charities and other public sector organisations need to work together to establish mutual trust and encourage victims to come forward and report crimes.
Businesses must take responsibility for ensuring they do not work with suppliers involved in trafficking and exploitation.
Slavery is a global problem and we are also working with high-risk source countries to try and stop victims falling prey to modern slave drivers in the first place.
I have asked Anthony Steen, chief executive of the Human Trafficking Foundation, to undertake a series of overseas visits to look at how we can improve our approach both domestically and internationally.
You can expect to hear more about all of this work in the coming weeks and months. I make no apology for the fact I will be talking about slavery again and again.
I will be joining with voices from across the political spectrum, the public and private sector, law enforcement and charities, local and international organisations.
Challenging everyone to face up to the appalling reality of modern slavery and to help end it.
And to say, in the famous words of William Wilberforce in a speech to the House of Commons: “You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know.”
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