YOU always expect chains. Every time you hear the word “slavery” you always expect chains. In some instances physical shackles will exist. Nowadays the brutal and dehumanising shackles are emotional, economic, degrading servitude and enforced begging.

These characterise the experience of modern-day slavery today.

Those who have been trafficked and enslaved are robbed of their humanity and are violated spiritually, physically and emotionally.

It is one of the great moral scandals of our time. Human trafficking and modern day slavery is growing across the world and within our country.

Many assume slavery was abolished in 1833 in the UK, but it exists across the world, and in our country. It is estimated that around 10,000 to 13,000 people in the UK live as slaves.

Trafficking referrals to Police Scotland have steadily increased in recent years, with 2017 seeing a rise of 38%.

The UK and Scottish governments are currently reviewing existing legislation to tackle human trafficking and modern slavery.

Human trafficking is a type of slavery that transports or trades people for the purpose of exploitation. It has an impact on people from many different backgrounds and people are trafficked for a variety of purposes.

Men are often trafficked into hard labour jobs in agriculture, fishing or building sites, and can deployed in pop-up car washes. Children are trafficked into the textile industry, agriculture and fishing. Nail bars and cleaning companies will often use women who have been trafficked.

Women and girls are typically trafficked into the commercial sex industry, and sometimes boys and men too. Police Scotland estimated that there were around 300-400 brothels in Edinburgh, with the number rising to 1000 during the Festival.

In Scotland last year there were 228 referrals to the authorities reporting instances of human trafficking.

Global trafficking patterns tend to flow from the east to the west, with many of the poorest and most unstable countries showing the highest incidence of trafficking. Extreme poverty in those countries is a common factor amongst trafficked victims.

At a recent seminar in Dundas Castle, hosted by Survivors of Human Trafficking in Scotland (SOHTIS), representatives from faith-based communities were brought together to consider what a faith-based response might involve. Representatives from the Salvation Army and the Church of England addressed the group to get a perspective of how faith groups in England are responding.

It is estimated that every year the human trafficking industry generates around £26 billion, and that’s just in Scotland. Campaigners claim that human trafficking is the second most profitable illegal activity after the drug trade.

In the 19th century, a slave cost the equivalent of around £20,000 today, yet it is estimated that a modern-day slave costs around £10.

It is reckoned that 77% of the economic supply chain has an element of slavery in it.

There is a significant challenge to food and clothing suppliers, and the hospitality trade, as elements of modern slavery are found at source. Serious questions are being asked about how much of the UK economy has a dependency on human trafficking and slavery.

Much of human trafficking and modern-day slavery is hidden in plain sight – but it is there.

People are suffering in our communities today because of this wicked global network of evil. Faith communities, alongside other bodies, can help counter it by forming a global network for good.