Workshops, Events and Activities
Slavery Free Croydon: Feel Safe, Report Safely: Anti-trafficking Workshops
From the playground to our local business, Modern Slavery and Trafficking is happening on our doorstep and we are mostly blind to it. Thanks to our funders, CCAT now provides a range of free workshops to help you understand, identify, and prevent the exploitation of the people around us.
Our mission is to create a Slavery Free Croydon by highlighting and fighting exploitation in Croydon. We aim to inspire our local community to understand the injustices of Modern Day Slavery and create a certification that can be displayed in businesses, places of worship, schools, community groups etc to show that they have committed to making Croydon slavery free.
Slavery Free Croydon is a natural progression of CCATs work. Since 2014 CCAT has been following a three point strategy of intelligence gathering, awareness raising, and campaigning, CCAT successfully reduced the number of off-street brothels in operation; raised awareness of human trafficking in Croydon; and garnered support from local stakeholders (including the Metropolitan Police, Croydon Council, and MPs).
We have grown a lot since then, in 2021 we commissioned research to understand Modern Slavery in Croydon better. In 2022 we laid the foundations for establishing and growing the project, including our local community, and developing Slavery Free Croydon Community Champions to further the work.
2023 will see CCAT initiating Slavery Free Croydon through two main objectives 1) continuing our already strong Awareness Raising programme of workshops delivered to schools, colleges, universities, local businesses, and residents; and 2) setting up the first Croydon-wide Multi-agency Steering Group.
We were thrilled to be awarded funding to continue providing our much-needed workshops for free.
Who should attend our workshops?
Modern Slavery and Anti-trafficking workshops are for:
- Schools, colleges, and universities – students, parents, and teachers
- Professionals, businesses, and networking groups
- Community groups, churches and faith groups, local charities, and forums
- Care sector workers, GPs, pharmacies, and related professionals
- Small to large enterprises, micro-business owners, and sole-traders
Why you should attend
Whether a concerned parent, business owner or local Croydon resident, you can help make a Slavery Free Croydon by being aware of what’s happening in your neighbourhood and workplace.
For many reasons, including the proximity to Gatwick Airport, situating of Lunar House (National Immigration Centre), and over 1000 refugees and asylum seekers currently being housed in temporary accommodation, Croydon currently has the highest levels of human trafficking in London – around 30% of the UK National average. This problem is growing: there were 10,613 reported victims in the UK in 2020, but the true figure is likely to be significantly higher due to under-reporting. During the period January 2022 to December 2022 Gov.uk shows 16,938 victims reported in the UK, showing the need for community awareness and safe reporting is escalating each year.
Croydon is also one of the boroughs with both the highest number of children identified as victims of modern slavery being referred into care and the highest numbers of criminal exploitation and labour exploitation.
Benefits of attending our workshop
Gives you and your team the understanding and knowledge of:
- Creating Slavery Free Croydon
- Keeping vulnerable people in your community safe
- How to ensure children, teens, and young adults are aware of Modern Day Slavery
- Identifying and reporting concerns safely for employees
- Consumer confidence in your supply chain (for businesses)
What is included in the 1-hour workshop?
Our Modern Slavery workshop helps to provide understanding and knowledge of:
- What Modern Slavery is and the legal framework supporting anti-trafficking
- How to spot the signs and types of exploitation online and in-person
- How grooming of children and adults occurs online and in-person
- Where and how exploitation is likely to occur
- What you can do to safely report and help those at risk
Our business and professional workshops include all of the above and:
- Modern Slavery, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and ethical business practices
- Where exploitation is likely to occur in your supply chain
- Why having anti-slavery statements is important (even if it’s not a legal requirement for your business or workplace)
Costs and location of workshops
Our workshops are FREE.
We are a volunteer-led community interest group and we aim to make a Slavery Free Croydon. We provide both online and in-person workshops within Croydon.
Our experience includes specialist training and workshops. This includes schools, colleges and universities, churches and faith groups, charities, and community groups. We offer tailored packages for professionals, businesses, and network groups, as well as bespoke talks and presentations.
If you find value in the workshops provided, we welcome new members, volunteers and donations.
How to book
Find out more at our LAUNCH EVENT on 12th June 2023. Please book your space via Eventbrite (opens a separate page). If the link is not working copy and paste into your browser: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/slavery-free-croydon-launch-tickets-627013232457
Slavery Free Croydon project is funded by The National Lottery Community Fund
