Last Saturday, SI Tenby programme action officer Dr. Anne Kelly was delighted to welcome Stephen Chapman, anti-slavery coordinator for Wales, to a special brunch meeting at the Giltar Hotel.

SI presidents Wendy Bell and Rosemary Proctor, a large number of fellow Soroptimists and friends, as well as representatives from other organisations such as Tenby Rotary Club and Tenby Inner Wheel, were also in attendance.

Mr. Chapman, who was the former deputy director at the UK Border Agency and more recently helped organise security for the Olympic Games, now holds the unique post of anti-slavery coordinator for Wales. He explained that Wales is now leading the way when it comes to tackling the illegal trade of human trafficking and other nations are watching its work with interest.

He defined slavery as the movement of one person from one place to another, within a country or across borders, into conditions of exploitation against their will. He outlined the principal slavery offences, which included labour exploitation, sexual exploitation, child exploitation, domestic servitude, criminal exploitation and human organ harvesting, but also pointed out that traffickers don’t recognise those boundaries. A trafficked child working in domestic servitude will be moved on to work in the sex industry or a factory - they can work across it. Although they are called human trafficking victims, the word slavery is more appropriate, because that is what it is, and the perpetrators are criminals.

Steve Chapman went on to give some disturbing data about reported cases of slavery in the UK - the 2014 National Referral Mechanism, which is the current measurement for slavery, estimates that there are between 10,000 and 13,000 victims of modern slavery in the UK.

He concluded his talk with a detailed account of the recent situation in North Wales, where 111 migrant workers, mostly from Romania, were found to be living in appalling conditions in a building in Deeside Lane in Sealand. Operation Base involved the coordination of over 20 partner agencies, including the police, local authorities, the CPS, charitable organisations such as BAWSO, and Soroptimist International. The victims were all taken to a reception centre in Flintside and dealt with on a case by case basis.

Finally, Mr. Chapman reminded his audience that modern-day slavery is not a hidden crime and every person has a part to play in rescuing victims from their misery. The public need to use their common sense. It is about being a good neighbour. Trafficking affects all aspects of society and everyone has their role to play. If you suspect traffickers are working in your area, call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. In emergencies, always call 999.

Everyone agreed that it had been a most informative if disturbing presentation.

SI Tenby would like to thank Mr. Chapman for giving up his time on a Saturday morning and helping to raise awareness of the extent of the problem of modern slavery in Wales and the many strategies in place to tackle it. All proceeds from the talk will be given to BAWSO, the first support agency for victims of modern slavery in Wales.

Thanks, as always, are also extended to Malcolm, Patrick and their staff for the warm hospitality and excellent refreshments.

For more information about Mr. Chapman’s work, visit www.wales.gov.uk/antislavery or for SI Tenby’s continued campaign to tackle human trafficking explore our website at http://sigbi.org/tenby