Coventry leads the way in anti-slavery collaboration
Claire Walford
In August, Lois, Ayshea and Phoebe represented The Clewer Initiative at an Anti-Slavery Open Day at Coventry Cathedral.
The morning was an informal, drop in event, open to anyone – the public, modern slavery practitioners and survivors of exploitation.
Organised by Coventry City Council and Coventry Cathedral (which has a long-standing commitment to arts, reconciliation ministry and raising awareness of social justice issues), the Open Day was held in the entrance of the cathedral - a beautiful, modern space with extraordinary, coloured stain glass windows.
Who’s who?
More than 20 organisations had exhibition stands and were able to chat to members of the public, network with professionals and discuss support with those affected by exploitation. At The Clewer Initiative’s stand, the team had lots of fruitful conversations with people and distributed our 'Let’s talk' flyers and business cards which advertise our resources and the Safe Car Wash App.
Ayshea Cross, our National Projects Officer, shares: “Some of the people we spoke to were particularly grateful to receive our Safe Car Wash App business cards as they were something they could easily share with people who may be experiencing exploitation on car wash sites.”
Other exhibiting organisations included:
- Hope at Home - with an interactive poll for the public, using marbles and jars to guess how many victims there are in the UK.
- St Francis Employability – a charity based in a church that helps reduce vulnerability through a job clinic, English language learning, skills development, benefit, debt and housing guidance
- Medaille Trust – we loved speaking to Heather, a volunteer who attends their West Midlands hub drop in and supports survivors on the edge of the service. Look out for our interview with her on socials!
- Various migrant support, sexual exploitation and health awareness services
- The Council's Community Safety Team who were providing information about types of exploitation and the work they do on the frontline
Going forward
Coventry City Council established the Coventry Modern Slavery Partnership (CMSP) in January 2025 – consisting of representatives from 20 council departments and 55 other frontline organisations. It seeks to coordinate responses to cases in the area, as well as deliver on its 4P strategy based around 'Pursue, Prevent, Protect, Prepare.'
In the same year, Hebe Lawson, Coventry City Council's Modern Slavery Lead who pioneered the Partnership was shortlisted by the Human Trafficking Foundation (HTF) in the Statutory Services Outstanding Contributions category. The HTF said that "Hebe’s proactive approach and strong partnerships have significantly improved victim identification, training, and collaborative efforts, making Coventry a leader in tackling modern slavery."
The Clewer Initiative has contributed to the consultation on the 'pursue’, ‘prevent' and ‘prepare’ parts of the Council’s strategy for 2026-27 and presented information about the Safe Car Wash App to the partnership meetings this year. We are looking to finding ways of raising up churches and volunteers in the city to get more involved with Coventry's anti-slavery efforts.
Hebe Lawson, Coventry City Council Modern Slavery Lead, adds: “Our Anti-Slavery Open Days show communities in Coventry that there is help available for anyone affected by modern slavery. I am incredibly grateful to Coventry Cathedral for their unwavering support of this agenda, as well as The Clewer Initiative and all our Coventry Modern Slavery Partnership members whose willingness to offer their support and expertise spreads hope and resilience in our collective efforts against exploitation.”
The event was a brilliant example of collaboration, engaging the general public and providing an opportunity for specialists to network and see who is playing what part of the response puzzle and where to get help.
If you are part of a church in Coventry and would like to find out how to make your buildings available as a temporary space for survivors of exploitation in the immediacy after a police or local authority intervention, we'd love to hear from you. Send us an email on info@clewer.org.uk