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Article

5 Dec 2018

Author:
Kieran Guilbert, Thomson Reuters Foundation

UK: Social media campaign launched to tackle modern slavery & sexual exploitation

"London calling: Facebook and banks enlisted in drive to stop slavery", 3 December 2018

...Bankers, police and campaigners have teamed up on a campaign to reach out to vulnerable people in Croydon, south London, and give advice regarding their rights, where to seek support and how to act if faced with sexual abuse or labour exploitation.

Organisers of the project - the first of its kind in London... - say it aims to make people living in trafficking hotspots more wary of a crime that is evolving and growing nationwide, according to officials. "We are trying to highlight people's rights and direct them to local services by targeting them through social media," said Neil Giles, a director at anti-slavery group Stop the Traffik...

The... campaign is using targeted adverts on Facebook to share information about slavery in Romanian and Polish...

Facebook did not respond to requests for comment but said last month... that the social media giant was always looking to combat trafficking, and geotargeted adverts were valuable to engage with vulnerable communities...

The project is also being backed by Barclays Bank which said it has trained its staff on how to spot the signs of slavery, identify traffickers and victims, and report their suspicions...