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.
The Clewer Initiative exists to raise awareness and mobilise the Church and communities to take action against modern slavery.
We were established in 2016 as a three-year project, funded by the Clewer Sisters, an order of Anglican nuns who donate generously to causes related to the eradication of human trafficking. In 2024, we became an independent charity, funded by several trusts and donors. We have a board of trustees and 12 Church of England Bishops as our Patrons.
There is an urgent need to raise awareness of modern slavery and equip individuals and communities to know how to spot the signs of slavery and report suspicions. Time and again, law enforcement officers state that the single, most useful thing we can do at The Clewer Initiative is to educate the public about the crime.
The Clewer Initiative is unique in the way it works nationally to challenge and motivate churches to improve their response. We work with Anglican churches and other church networks to raise awareness and cascade knowledge and best practice.
Partnership is one of our core principles and we collaborate not only with churches, but also with law enforcement, local government, charities, wider faith networks and national and international policy makers.
To help teach groups about specific areas of modern slavery and community resilience, we have pioneered the Safe Car Wash app, an innovative solution helping to address the issue of modern slavery in the hand car wash sector, and a range of successful online courses and training resources.
