Leicester will today join dozens of cities across the country in a fight to tackle human trafficking, by collecting petition signatures and hosting an informative stall.
Designed to raise awareness of the widespread crime, which sees 800,000 people – children, men and women - trafficked every year, petition signatures will be collected by members of Soroptimist International of Leicester at Leicester Market.
The group will also host a stall with anti-trafficking material, where people can learn about the issue and how to help combat it.
The event is one of dozens being held nationwide as part of Anti-Slavery Day.
The day, held each year on October 18, is aimed at raising awareness of the modern day slave trade. According to the Human Trafficking Foundation, "there are more people in slavery today than in the entire 350 year history of the slave trade and 1 in 8 of those is in Europe."
Some 76 per cent of victims are trafficked for sexual exploitation, Eurostat finds, and 70 per cent of victims are women.
Some 17 per cent are men, 11 per cent girls and two per cent boys.
Human trafficking is the second-biggest source of illicit profits after the drugs trade, the European Commission says, with traffickers making $32 billion in profits annually.
The day was created by an Act of Parliament following the passage of the Anti-Slavery Day Bill in 2010, introduced in Parliament as a Private Members Bill by Anthony Steen, former MP for Totnes.
The Bill, which defined Modern Day Slavery as child trafficking, forced labour, domestic servitude and trafficking for sexual exploitation, passed through both Houses unopposed, although amended.
Anti-Slavery Day organisers hope it will put pressure on government, local authorities and public institutions to address the scale and scope of human trafficking.
The stall being erected at Leicester Market is designed to empower people with the knowledge needed to tackle the issue. Informing the public about the crime is vital if it is to be stamped out, organisations in the field say.
Mr Steen, the former MP behind Anti-Slavery Day, said: "You need awareness. People have to know there's a brothel around the corner, they have got to know there are men in the fields on debt bondage."
Other events to commemorate Anti-Slavery Day are being held across the country. Films about modern day slavery will be screened in Bath, Gloucester, Loughborough and Leeds, while conferences, child trafficking training days and concerts will be held in cities including Nottingham, Croydon and Leicester.
To find out more about Anti-Slavery Day, visit www.antislaveryday.com.
