Virtus lectures: John Coleby 16 May 2017

Tuesday 16 May 2017 at 7:30pm in the Newman Chapel at Ealing Abbey, Marchwood Crescent, W5 2DZ

“The Oppression & Resilience of victims of Human Trafficking and Domestic Slavery in London”

Human Trafficking & Domestic Slavery

speaker John Coleby (Director of Caritas, Westminster),

Virtus lecture by John Coleby, Director of Caritas Westminster,

We are very grateful to John for coming to speak on this important topic.

Cost: £10 per person (concessions £5)

All proceeds to Bakhita House                                                           

In 2014 The National Crime Agency estimated that as many as 13,000 people in Britain are victims of slavery alone.

The figure for 2013 marks the first time the government has made an official estimate of the scale of modern slavery in the UK, and includes women forced into prostitution, domestic staff, and workers in fields, factories and fishing.

The National Crime Agency (NCA)’s human trafficking centre had previously put the number at 2,744.

The Prime Minister, Theresa May, has said the scale of abuse is shocking. “The first step to eradicating the scourge of modern slavery is acknowledging and confronting its existence,” she said. “The estimated scale of the problem in modern Britain is shocking and these new figures starkly reinforce the case for urgent action.”

A young Lithuanian woman forced into prostitution

A young Lithuanian woman forced into prostitution

The data was collated from sources including the police, the UK Border Force, charities and the Gangmasters Licensing Authority. The Home Office described the estimate as a “dark figure” that may not have come to the NCA’s attention.

Professor Bernard Silverman, the chief scientific adviser to the Home Office, said the new statistical analysis aimed to calculate the number of “hidden” victims who are not reported to the authorities.

“Modern slavery is very often deeply hidden and so it is a great challenge to assess its scale,” he said. “The data collected is inevitably incomplete and, in addition, has to be very carefully handled because of its sensitivity.”

The modern slavery minister, Karen Bradley, told the BBC the issue was a hidden crime. “What we have to do today is not make people acknowledge it’s wrong – everybody knows it’s wrong – but we have to find it,” she said.

Join us to hear John Coleby speak about Human Trafficking in the UK, the response of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Westminster, and the work of ‘The Bakhita Initiative’.

John Coleby is the director of Caritas Westminster, the social action agency of the church in the Diocese of Westminster. One of the services run by Caritas is Caritas Bakhita House, a safe house for female victims of human trafficking. Since it’s opening in June 2015, Caritas Bakhita House has supported over 50 victims of human trafficking with accommodation,  legal advice, English lessons, mentoring, employment training, pastoral care, wellbeing and arts therapy, and much more.

Location: Ealing Abbey, Marchwood Crescent W5 2DZ

Virtus lectures

We want to link with collaborators and sponsors from different faiths and none in order to make the world a better place, beginning with ourselves. We want to consider and act together to promote reconciliation,  justice, truth and the needs of the world and the contributions that we can make together.

Fr Abbot Martin Shipperlee, several other monks of Ealing Abbey and Christian Kendall-Daw began to work together in Spring 2015. In Summer 2015 they began to consider how the monastic community might respond to the call of Pope Francis during the Year for Consecrated Life to reach out in faith and hope. They decided to “reach out to the peripheries of society” in order to make contact with people who are very different from the monks in so many ways.

We too want to practice the monastic values of trust, hope, industry, fidelity, competence and love

Virtus lectures

This concept was based on promoting our human strengths, (Virtus in Latin). These human strengths, according to the psychologist Erik Erikson are trust, hope, industry, competence, fidelity (overcoming obstacles) and love.

After the successful launch of the Virtus lectures in October 2015, we have been working to develop a core team, working with Fr Abbot and the entire monastic community.

Virtus lectures: trust, hope, industry, fidelity, competence and love

Virtus lectures: trust, hope, industry, fidelity, competence and love

We are looking for sponsors and collaborators from different faiths and none. Since Autumn 2016 Graham Prince has been working with the monks to develop Virtus lectures. We want to consider and act together to promote reconciliation,  justice, truth and the needs of the world and the contributions that we can make.

contact: info AT benedictine-institute DOT org

© Ealing Abbey, updated 24 March 2017