You might be questioning the relevance of modern slavery as a topic to discuss within the theme of teen mental health. But I would argue that it is explicitly relevant when you consider the intent behind the delivery of our tutorials on this issue. We decided on three key elements to focus on: raising awareness, keeping young people safe, and ending modern slavery.
Firstly, we wanted to raise awareness amongst young people of what forms modern slavery takes, that it is closer than they think, and to help prevent them from becoming unwitting consumers as they begin to think about providence. Students are interested in sexual exploitation as it is something that they have heard of, there is a lot of media coverage around this, but they are less aware of forced labour, domestic servitude, organ harvesting and criminal activity. Whilst we address all five areas within the tutorial, we focus mostly on county lines as an example of criminal activity, and forced labour. We use local examples, video clips and resources from Hope for Justice and from the Leicestershire Police to increase their understanding of the nature of these types of slavery, who are vulnerable to becoming victims and what signs to look out for within their communities. To make them think about their responsibility as a consumer and as a neighbour, we introduce them to the safe car wash app. This generates wider debates about what other products and services they and their families need to think about such as; garden maintenance and landscaping, beauty treatments and house renovations.
A growing national and local issue is the increased access that rural communities have to drugs as a result of organised criminals using young people and vulnerable adults to move them around the country. As an urban college with a number of students living independently this is something that we are acutely aware of and need to educate our students about and protect them from. All of our staff take part in annual safeguarding training and are taught to be vigilant to the indicators that may suggest that someone is involved in county lines, cuckooing or child sexual exploitation. We have a very clear policy in place and staff know to report any concerns directly to our designated lead who works closely with the appropriate external agencies. From day one, students are made aware during induction assemblies, of what constitutes safeguarding and who to go to if they have any concerns. Additionally, to reinforce the message and keep young people safe, we deliver the modern slavery tutorial within the first half term, and revisit county lines when discussing drugs and alcohol later in the term.
The third element I referred to was ‘ending modern slavery’ which is a seemingly impossible ask of a group of 16 year olds. But we do want our students to make a positive contribution to society, both for their own mental wellbeing and for the wider community, therefore, we encourage them to think about what they can do to help end modern slavery. When you learn about the nature and extent of modern slavery for the first time it is distressing and can leave you feeling powerless unless you are given the opportunity to make a difference. Students by this point, know how to raise concerns and where, but they may want to do something practical so they are given the opportunity to do some charity fundraising for Hope for Justice within college and the local community.
I have attached the tutor resources we use with L3 BTEC and A-Level students:
2018_UK_Annual_Report_on_Modern_Slavery
I was kidnapped in London and trafficked for sex
Su's blog 