The Clewer Initiative

200 years after the abolition of the slave trade and yet there are 122,000 men, women and children trapped in modern slavery in the UK.

We exist to raise awareness and mobilise the Church and communities to take action against modern slavery, to promote victim identification and to provide victim care and support.

Our key premise is to reduce the prevalence of modern slavery in our communities. Based on our belief that the tools to tackle modern slavery lie within communities, we work with local churches to build resilience and support vulnerable groups. We also work at a national and international level through a range of partnerships and collaborations raising awareness and developing practical tools and resources for use by churches, communities, partners and the public.

We are working at varying levels with most of the Church of England’s 42 dioceses, either on community-based projects, by sharing learning and knowledge through our network, or both. We support and learn from one another and work towards a common outcome: a world without slavery.

Partnership is one of our core principles and we collaborate not only within the Church of England, but also with law enforcement, local government, charities, and wider faith networks.

Locally we are working in communities with our Hidden Voices methodology. We help our groups to look at the risks and resources in their community and ask how they can address those risks. We explore together how they can help to prevent modern slavery and identify and support the victims.

Nationally our projects include the Safe Car Wash app, an innovative solution helping to address the issue of modern slavery. We have also created a range of successful online courses and training resources to help teach appropriate groups about specific areas of modern slavery and community resilience.