Impact Report The difference you made in 2017 Impact Report 2017 Impact Report 2017 2 2017 3 Some stories that inspired us last year Kallu and family, India “My wife, children and I worked for 12 hours a day for two years in a brick kiln, in very bad conditions. We never got paid any wages, just enough allowance to survive, but during monsoon months we didn’t even get that. I was afraid to complain because the kiln owner made threats towards me and my two young daughters. Community meeting, Doguewara, Niger One day, I found the helpline run by Momentum is building Volunteers for Social Justice (VSJ) A woman of slave descent, [Anti-Slavery’s partners], and they Niger Ten years ago we marked the 200th anniversary of helped us fl ee the kiln. VSJ took up “Before, we had nothing – the abolition of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade with a our case and fi nally our debt was lifted a woman could not even talk big public campaign. We needed to tell people that and we could about having her own money. slavery still existed. return home. But then Timidria [Anti-Slavery’s Fast forward to 2017, and it’s hard to open a newspaper We were partners] showed us that, with Tanya English without reading a story about modern slavery! even paid a small loan, we could start our Chair of the Trustees for the whole own small business. We use So slavery has hit the mainstream. This is a crucial two years step towards growing an anti-slavery movement that our earnings to cover everyday that we had expenses and can send our will end slavery for good. worked.” Brick kiln worker, India children to school.” We can see some green shoots of change already. Cover image and above: The UK Modern Slavery Act, even with its fl aws, Children supported by our Mabrouka, Mauritania school project in Niger is in place; ending slavery is now one of the UN Mabrouka, Mauritania Sustainable Development Goals; forced marriage is at last offi cially recognised as slavery. “From a very young age, I lived with a family as a slave. When other children Of course we operate in very challenging times, with went to school, I spent all my time working. Anti-Slavery International mass migration and huge inequalities of income Thomas Clarkson House I pounded grain in a pestle and mortar, The Stableyard and power. But we believe every donation, petition washed clothes and cooked meals. I was Broomgrove Road signed and message shared on social media helps London SW9 9TL often beaten and insulted for any reason. United Kingdom builds the momentum to end slavery – forever. tel: +44 (0)20 7501 8920 Thank you for your support. Since I have been with SOS-Esclaves [Anti-Slavery’s partners] I have received email: [email protected] encouragement and support. They help me forget the suffering I went through. website: www.antislavery.org Finally, I am delighted to welcome Jasmine O’Connor Now I am earning a living and trying to track down my mother, UK Registered Charity 1049160 as our new Chief Executive and wish her well as she Company limited by guarantee 3079904 who I haven’t seen since I was very young and can’t remember her face.” Registered in England and Wales joins us in the fi ght against slavery. Impact Report 2017 Impact Report 2017 4 5 The difference you made to ending slavery 11 countries, where Anti-Slavery We supported over 81,000 people affected by slavery. International runs projects directly helping people affected by slavery. © Simon Buxton More schools for children of slave descent IKEA withdraws from Turkmenistan More children of former slaves in remote areas of After Anti-Slavery International’s intervention, Niger were able to attend school. They are the first Swedish furniture giant IKEA revealed it would generation from their community to receive a stop sourcing cotton from Turkmenistan. formal education. One of the world’s most oppressive regimes, Initially Anti-Slavery established six schools for Turkmenistan operates a system of forced communities of slave descent to break dependency on labour to produce cotton, its major export their masters. The communities now live in freedom product, ruthlessly cracking down on activists. and have successfully persuaded the Government to fund their schools and open three new ones. After our involvement, IKEA agreed that continuing its presence would mean condoning human rights abuses in the country. Landmark European Court victory Thanks to Anti-Slavery’s intervention, the European 718 Corporates take action Court of Human Rights ruled that Greece failed to small loans were given to children from 90 The corporate world is making protect people from trafficking. In an infamous case, survivors of slavery in Mauritania. communities of more efforts to tackle slavery a group of Bangladeshi strawberry pickers were former slaves in supply chains. shot at by guards, and the Greek court acquitted the attended our people who escaped slavery in perpetrators, but this landmark verdict reiterates schools in Niger. 80 Last year Anti-Slavery entered Mauritania accessed literacy training. European states’ obligations to tackle trafficking. a strategic partnership with online clothing giant ASOS to help improve its ‘on the India ratifies conventions ground’ practices preventing exploitation, and Legal & to protect children General, the financial services In a move that Anti-Slavery campaigned for, India company, incorporated our © Bharat Patel © Bharat ratified two international treaties on the worst advice in its updated child forms of child labour and on the minimum age of protection policy. We also work. The Government will have to ensure that successfully campaigned for all children under fourteen are not working, and the European Parliament to that no child is working in hazardous industries. pass a resolution calling for The move will make it easier to hold India to legally binding measures on account on ending widespread child exploitation. global supply chains. Impact Report 2017 Impact Report 2017 6 7 The difference you made to ending slavery Qatar commits to reforms UK improves victim care © Dfi d © Dfi Under pressure from campaigners, Responding to Anti-Slavery’s Qatar has committed to labour law campaigning, the UK Home Offi ce reforms for migrant workers, including announced reforms to the system a minimum wage and the right of support for victims of slavery, for workers to organise and leave including separating victim the country if they wish. Although identifi cation from the immigration positive, the reforms won’t change the system and modestly extending ‘kafala’ system that gives employers the length of guaranteed support control over workers’ visas, enabling Forced marriage is slavery to 90 days. Although positive, the exploitation. In a signifi cant campaign win for changes fall short of creating the Anti-Slavery Anti-Slavery International, the comprehensive long-term support was the fi rst UN offi cially recognised forced system we are calling for, which would to expose marriage as a form of slavery. allow survivors to rebuild their lives. this issue, Its inclusion in the International prompting an 100% of domestic workers Labour Organization‘s (ILO) from the area covered by our investigation estimates of people in slavery by the project in Mwanza, Tanzania, 1,194 workers were released will increase the pressure on reported being paid regularly. from debt bondage in India. Guardian governments around the world and newspaper. direct more resources to tackle it. The ILO estimated that 15.4 million Cotton Crimes – signs of change people are in forced marriage, The Government of Uzbekistan acknowledged the existence of forced labour in its with 40.3 million people in slavery We answered 9,105 calls to our cotton industry and recalled thousands of workers back from the fi elds. helpline for bonded labourers in India. worldwide in total. This unprecedented move potentially signals reforms to a system that forces over 1 million Uzbek citizens into the fi elds every year and harshly punishes any dissent. Exposing India’s brick kilns In March 2017, hundreds of Anti-Slavery supporters successfully campaigned to Anti-Slavery’s report and documentary revealed free Uzbek activist, Elena Urlaeva, from shocking levels of slavery in India’s brick kiln detention in a psychiatric institution. industry and the Indian Government’s systematic failures to protect workers from slavery. Our report found that 96% of brick kiln moulders had their wages withheld, trapping them in 7,311 children in Senegal a never ending cycle of debt. Up to 80% of are no longer forced to beg. children under fourteen were found to work for nine hours a day. The exploitative practices 20 communities adopted new affect up to an estimated 23 million workers. schools free from child begging. Impact Report 2017 8 Why we support Anti-Slavery International So happy to be an abolitionist, I’m Barbadian and to be able to take actions (and now British) to further this cause! now living in Elizabeth Matthews, supporter England and the descendant of slaves, arguably an ultimate product of slavery I’m delighted and anti-slavery! Growing up to be invited to in the Caribbean, the work and support the work role of the Anti-Slavery Society of Anti-Slavery has always been an important International, to part of my consciousness as help shine a light to the critical role that the on a 21st century scandal which Society, alongside the efforts shames society. Once you have of the slaves and free blacks heard the voices of the victims themselves, played in getting of modern slavery, their stories freedom. To some extent, our gift never leave you. is an overdue payment! Julie Etchingham, broadcaster Alan Smith, supporter and patron of Anti-Slavery I choose to support and raise money for Anti-Slavery to help children who are forced into slavery.