Getting to work on Modern Slavery in Cumbria
Claire Walford
Last month, our director Lois travelled to Workington in the west of Cumbria to take part in a Cumbria Modern Slavery Champions Network event.
Organised by Jo Phillips, the Modern Slavery Project Lead & Community Social Action Team Member at Churches Together in Cumbria, it was the first time the event had been held in the coastal port and industrial town.
Jo explains why she made this strategic decision: “Cumbria is a large county, and it can take up to 90 minutes to travel across it. As a result, many frontline workers are unable to attend meetings when they are hosted at the opposite end of the county. We therefore organised our fifth modern slavery event in Workington so we could connect with a different group of practitioners. More than 50 people joined us, two thirds of which were new to the network including seven new organisations.”
The day comprised of a mixture of presentations and facilitated discussion. The main speakers were Helena Croft MBE, the CEO of Streetlight; and Lois Bosatta. Helena shared the story of how Streetlight began working in Cumbria, following an introduction from The Clewer Initiative.
Jo shares: “Bishop Alastair Redfern introduced me to Streetlight UK, a charity that enables women in prostitution to reclaim control of their lives and find alternative solutions to sex work. I connected Streetlight with the Cumbria Police (among other organisations) and for the last year, Streetlight team members have been accompanying the Police on wellbeing visits with sex workers. The team has been able to speak with many women, and the Police have been extremely open to the partnership. In fact, it’s going so well that Streetlight is now seeking funding for a new role in Cumbria.
“Many agencies or frontline organisations don’t cover Cumbria – they may have an office in Manchester or Liverpool but they are unable to reach as far as Cumbria. Support is usually allocated per capita and though Cumbria is England's third largest county, it is the country's second least densely populated county, and does not usually get given substantial resources. The issue of modern slavery is no smaller and no less difficult to deal with yet we have a lot less money than other regions. Often victims of modern slavery are taken outside the county to be cared for. That’s why it was so great to hear about an organisation that is doing brilliant work, based in Cumbria.”
After the inspiring presentation from Streetlight, Lois introduced the work of The Clewer Initiative and how we can support churches and community groups as well as signposting our resources and training.
She also shared some recent research about Modern Slavery and Pregnancy, which was of particular relevance to the many NHS representatives in the room. Lois shared insights from her personal work and the research launched earlier this year by University of Nottingham and Causeway, discussing how to provide safe care to mothers and the benefits of the co-designed resources.
In the afternoon, there was an extended time of discussion and group work where everyone was able to share reflections and begin thinking about next steps within their own professional and personal setting. Jo continues: “We deliberately scheduled lots of time for discussion where people were mixed up and able to make new connections, share issues and brainstorm creative solutions and responses. This is such an important element of our network gatherings. We also invited everyone to make a commitment to one thing they would do as a result of the day’s learning. It was exciting to see the range of resolutions made (see below) and tangible outcomes from the event.”
The Clewer Initiative has been on hand for Jo since she began pioneering the network in 2023. She adds: “I am super grateful for the support The Clewer has given me over the last three years. Doing this sort of work can often feel very isolating and overwhelming but the partnership, encouragement and connections that the Clewer freely offers makes all the difference.
“I don’t think anyone else in Cumbria is doing what I am trying to do. I love signposting people to information, training opportunities and resources that helps with what they’re facing; connecting individuals and sharing knowledge. I’m a dot joiner and I see it as vital work. I really want to keep this space open and keep the discussion going, raising awareness amongst those on the frontline. I believe that before long the issue is going to rise up the national agenda. It costs the Government money when we don’t tackle modern slavery properly or proactively work to prevent it. As an issue it is growing and soon people in power are going to wake up and start wanting to address it more effectively. When that happens, we will be ready. In the meanwhile, we are patiently building our network. There are currently around 250 people receiving our monthly emails and disseminating the information onwards within their own networks. Hopefully this number will continue to grow.”
Lois Bosatta concludes: “Jo’s work in Cumbria is a brilliant example of how initiative from within the church can support and equip people from all sectors and services to respond to this issue. Holding space, not just for training but conversations to happen around the room, helped the different roles think more about what they come across and how to work together to support individuals experiencing harm. Representatives from clergy and Mothers’ Union joined us – they too are playing their part in tackling this issue in their local communities through awareness and offering support.
“It was great to understand more about Streetlight’s work and hear about their prevention work with men as buyers of sex, to help raise awareness of the true cost of their actions, legally, personally and seeing the human they may be buying from.”
Anonymous Resolutions:
- I will be disseminating the pathway information within my services and chat with my clinical teams around today’s session
- Share information and read pathways and guidance doc
- Think about how to connect clients up with church communities and social support
- Professional curiosity, ask more questions and refer and signpost with confidence
- Going to arrange meeting with **** to link the service in with our Social Prescribing network and Joy app. We can help with sharing information and connecting the service with community organisations and council teams.
- Discuss having modern slavery champions within the trust, so that we have a team who know exactly what to do when we encounter victims
- I will ensure that the environmental health officer who closes properties where potential slavery could be carried out is aware of the national referral mechanism
- Increase my network and be more proactive in accessing other resources for the woman
- Send NRM document with all maternity staff
- Exercise my professional curiosity with more confidence & share intel or suspicions with the police
