A look at Britain’s modern ’slaves’

With the relaxation of border controls in Europe due to the enlargement of the European Union, human trafficking has become quite a big problem, especially the business of bringing young women from Eastern Europe and poorer countries outside the EU to Western Europe and forcing them to work in the sex industry. London has a problem with Albanian gangs importing girls they’ve kidnapped or ‘bought’ in Eastern Europe and bringing them here to forcibly work in brothels.

There’s a photography exhibition opening today inside of St Paul’s Cathedral called Slave Britain , organised by independent London based photo agency Panos Pictures, along with Amnesty International, Anti-Slavery International, Eaves and UNICEF UK.

The photos along with their subjects stories in the exhibition are mounted in what’s described as a specially designed ‘cage like’ structure to emphasize how this is the modern equivalent of slavery. The show is on from 21 February-29 March, from 8.30am-4pm. The exhibition itself is free but St Paul’s Cathedral charges a £9.50 admission for visitors, so plan to tour the Cathedral as well if you’re thinking of checking out this show.