Slavery

[bunn]

Last night on the local news, some person who had 'written a musical about slavery' said 'there are more people in slavery now than at the height of the Atlantic slave trade' and that 'there are slaves in every town and city in the UK'.

Can this possible be true? I know human trafficking exists, and is a terrible thing, but surely this has to be on a much smaller scale, given that it is illegal?

Comments

[the-marquis.livejournal.com]

But in large cities its easy to have a big house with "servants" who live in and only go out accompanied by an English speaker. I read of one, okay it depends on your view of the veracity of Reader's Digest & Candis and the like magazines, who was brought here and worked in London unaware of any rights she had here.

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

I'm not doubting that such things exist. However, saying "there are enough slaves in Britain today to be the equivalent of at least one in every town" isn't the same as saying "there is at least one in every town." This seems like a very sweeping statement. I find it hard to imagine that such things happen in every single town, even tiny rural ones in the middle of nowhere, with only 500 inhabitants. In my eyes, this is case of someone harming their very serious point by making sweeping unsupported claims. Saying "slavery is still a huge issue"... fine. Saying "there are slaves in every town in Britain", while not being able to prove it... It's going to invite people to say, "No way!" and thus harms his own point.

[the-marquis.livejournal.com]

Ah I see. Mind you it does depend on how big a town they mean, giving helpful definitions would have been good of these statistickers. Technically 'Bubbles' sex slave brothelmassage parlour in a nearby town, was in that town, but reporting of it made more references to the general conurbation around abouts.