According to the 2016 global slavery statistics, there are an estimated 40.3 million people living in slavery worldwide. The UK government has been active in driving international change in recent years, with legislation to criminalise modern slavery and development aid in the sum of £150 million given to tackle the issue.
IJM Advocate, Benson Shamala told Premier the government is crucial in bringing perpetrators to justice but the Church also has a responsibility to take action.
He said: “We need to ensure the government is holding the culprits to account, because when laws are informed we believe violence stops.
“The UK government has a responsibility to speak out and highlight the issues of trafficking across the world, but also, as Christians, we have a responsibility to work hand in hand with the government”
Mr Shamala, who has worked to free child slaves in Ghana and is currently fighting against police brutality in Kenya, added: “The Bible is the story about God coming in to rescue, rescue the children of Israel from captivity, but also our rescue as sinners from our sin.
“So we’ve been given a mandate as Christians to be able to continue with the work that Jesus left, which is to proclaim the good news to the people, to set the captives free and to defend those who are bereaved – the widows, the orphans and the oppressed.”
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