What’s Halloween all about? Warding off evil? Embracing evil? Laughing in the face of evil? Either way, with evil in the air in some shape or form, I spent the evening itself in the safest place possible: hosting an awards ceremony with dozens of nuns. How I yearned for some trick-or-treaters to come knocking. Sadly, it didn’t happen. Should have left a pumpkin outside.
They weren’t nuns, actually – they were sisters. There’s a difference, it turns out. Nuns’ lives are spent in prayer and contemplation; sisters are more out there doing good works in the world. Not that one activity has more value than the other, you understand. Heavens above, I wouldn’t like to get caught in a battle between nuns and sisters on that one.
Anyway, the Sisters Anti-Trafficking awards were to recognise the remarkable work of sisters around the world in tackling modern slavery and human trafficking. The winners were Sisters Seli, Francoise and Patricia for their astonishing work in, respectively, India, Thailand and Nigeria.
Dame Sara Thornton was there, retired former chief constable and for three years the UK’s independent anti-slavery commissioner. We spoke afterwards about modern slavery closer to home. “If you live in a town or city the chances are that it’ll be happening within a mile of where you live,” she said to me. “Victims could be in a carwash or a nail bar; they could be working in a kitchen in a restaurant. They could be working in a care home. That’s actually the biggest growth area this year: social care. They are hidden in plain sight.”
The number in the UK is thought to be about 100,000. We know it’s there but can’t bear to see it or believe it. For my part I tend to hide behind specious questions like: how do you tell the difference between someone stuck in a seriously crap job and someone who’s a victim of modern slavery? It turns out there’s the modern slavery and exploitation helpline to answer any questions you may have, as a worried witness or a victim. “But who knows the number for the helpline?” concedes Dame Sara. On this matter I can be of assistance. It is 08000 121 700.
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