Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery in Scotland

**Please note, for security reasons at Scottish Parliament, tickets to this event are strictly one per person.

40.3 million people were in modern slavery at any given time in 2016. Women, men and children are exploited in all corners of the world for forced labour, commercial sex, and domestic work. 1 in 4 victims of modern slavery are children.

Modern slavery is a growing problem not only in distant countries, but also in Britain. Slavery was abolished nearly 200 years ago. Yet, in 2016 alone there was 3,805 potential victims of modern slavery and human trafficking reported in the United Kingdom; 150 of them were recorded among in Scotland. The National Crime Agency estimates the actual number of modern slavery and human trafficking victims much higher.

In 2015, world leaders within the United Nations adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals to guide global development and stimulate action in areas of critical importance for humanity and the planet. Sustainable Development Goal 8 calls on the world to “take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms.”

UN House Scotland is committed to supporting the efforts towards eradication of human trafficking and modern slavery. On 23 March we will hold a one-day conference on ‘Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery in Scotland.' Raising Awareness, Strengthening Collaboration, Breaking the Chains’ at the Scottish Parliament. The event is supported by Christina McKelvie, MSP.

Join our experts and practitioners to discuss how human trafficking and modern slavery affect Scotland’s communities. Learn more about how individuals, public, private, and third sector organisations can work together to fight this inhuman practice.