On Anti-Slavery Day (Friday 18 October), Social Justice Secretary
has reaffirmed the Welsh
Government's commitment to working in partnership to overcome the
immense challenges of modern slavery.
Last year, First Responder organisations in Wales identified and
referred over 500 people for support, all as potential victims of
modern slavery.
Children and adults were subjected to criminal, labour, and
sexual exploitation, and domestic servitude. Some were trafficked
from other towns and cities in Wales and the UK, and some were
trafficked from other parts of the world.
This week, the Anti-Slavery Wales conference was held at
Aberystwyth University where people came together to learn more
about modern slavery and to share knowledge and expertise.
The Social Justice Secretary says partnership working is key to
tackling modern slavery and protecting people at risk of
exploitation.
said: “The Anti-Slavery
conference highlighted the immense challenges we face in
overcoming modern slavery in Wales and we cannot ignore the scale
of this issue.
“As a government, we are committed to working with the UK
Government, other devolved governments and organisations across
all sectors to tackle the challenges of modern slavery.
“Through working together, we can make even more progress in
protecting people and supporting individuals who have been
trafficked. We can also continue to pursue and prosecute the
criminals responsible for carrying out this terrible crime and
work to identify and mitigate risks of labour exploitation in
business activities and supply chains.
“We all have a part to play, and we can all make a difference.”
