The National Human Trafficking Awareness Day was observed on January 11, 2024. It is a day set aside to increase public awareness of the prevalence of modern-day slavery and this infringement on human rights. A month-long campaign to advocate for and raise awareness of the rights of survivors of human trafficking begins on January 11.
Article 4 of ECAT defines ‘trafficking’ as follows:
“’Trafficking in human beings’ shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments of benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.”
There are different types of human trafficking cases, including sexual exploitation, labour exploitation, domestic servitude, criminal exploitation and material exploitation.
Estimates from 2022 suggest that worldwide there were 49.6 million people that are victims of human trafficking and modern slavery. The Global Slavery Index suggests that in 2023 in the UK alone the number of victims was up to 122,000.
Southwell & Partners specialises in modern slavery and human rights law, including representing victims of human trafficking and forced criminality exploitation.
