Anti-Slavery Day is an opportunity for the modern slavery sector to host events and promotional materials to raise awareness of the issue and highlight good practice. This page provides updates on the various events, activities and campaigns happening across the sector to mark this day.

 

The Clewer Initiative
As part of Anti-Slavery Day, The Clewer Initiative is  doing a campaign aimed at churches called WALK SEE PRAY which will encourage people to get to know their communities, familiarise themselves with the signs, and report if they see anything – as well as encourage care for their neighbours!

• The concept:  Walk-See-Pray | The Clewer Initiative
• Some early tips: Five ways to pray for your community | The Clewer Initiative

They also have some of our network hosting services, talks or events around the country, including Southwark Cathedral, Plymouth and Bath.

For more information, please email here.

Essex Antislavery Partnerships (Southend, Chelmsford and Colchester)
– 14 October, Colchester Awareness Stall
– 15 October, Chelmsford Awareness Stall
– 16 October, Southend Awareness Stall
–  Social media campaign running before and throughout the week

To find out more about the awareness raising stalls, email here.

Coventry City Council
Coventry’s Modern Slavery Conference will take place at One Friargate, Station Square, Coventry CV1 2FL on Friday 23^rd of October 2026.

The event will be an opportunity to come together with colleagues and partners to mark national Anti-Slavery Day and celebrate the work happening in Coventry to disrupt exploitation and safeguard vulnerable residents.

It will be an interactive and collaborative day, where you can expect to:

• Take part in an interactive activity focused on the lived experience of sexual exploitation survivors accessing support in Coventry.
• Discuss how we can improve our local response in priority area roundtable activities.
• Hear from subject matter experts involved in disrupting exploitation and safeguarding survivors.
• Meet peers in Coventry, hear about their work, and discover opportunities to collaborate.

Tickets are free but limited, secure yours today. Please book your place here using Eventbrite. 

Discover Art is Freedom 2026: a Hestia exhibition by survivors of modern slavery
This October, Hestia’s annual Art is Freedom exhibition returns to London, showcasing artwork and photography created by survivors of modern slavery.

This year’s exhibition theme is This is me – a theme chosen by survivor-artists. The theme invites artists to explore who they are beyond their experiences of modern slavery. It challenges the label of “victim”, celebrates identity, and encourages audiences to see the person behind the statistics. Together, the works demonstrate how creativity and joy can help survivors rebuild confidence, reclaim their identity and find hope after trauma.

Where to see Art is Freedom

• Marble Arch | 12 – 17 October
• London Bridge station | 12 – 25 October
• St Pancras station | 12-25 October
• Trafalgar Square | 18-23 October
• Strand Aldwych | 24 October – 8 November

On Anti-Slavery Day (18 October), Art is Freedom survivor-artists will also ‘take over’ the iconic Piccadilly Lights screen for 10 minutes.

For more information, visit Hestia’s website: https://www.hestia.org/news/art-is-freedom-2026-exhibition-survivors-of-modern-slavery

It Felt Empty
To mark Anti-Slavery Day, Lucy Kirkwood’s It Felt Empty explores survival, exploitation, identity, resilience and recovery through the story of Dijana, who escapes from a detention centre and retreats into an Alice in Wonderland-like world. The play offers those working with survivors an opportunity to reflect on themes including identity, agency, trauma and the ways people adapt to survive. Actor and psychotherapist Marusiya Kalinina, who specialises in complex trauma and rehabilitation, is also involved. 5pm Sunday 18th October and 7pm Monday 19th October, Etcetera Theatre, Camden. More information and register your place here.

London Borough of Bexley
This conference is Bexley’s Anti-Slavery Day Community Conference, taking place on Monday 19 October from 10.00am to 1.00pm at The Salvation Army, Bexleyheath.

The conference will bring together partners, professionals, community representatives and lived experience speakers to raise awareness of modern slavery and exploitation, share learning, and strengthen our collective response to supporting victims and preventing harm.

Register your place here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/anti-slavery-day-community-conference-tickets-1999784341799?aff=oddtdtcreator

Coventry University

Coventry University highlights the importance of tackling modern slavery with striking Red Sand artwork on the steps of Coventry Cathedral 10.30-4p.m. Friday 16^th October- all welcome

Students at Coventry University are helping to draw attention to modern slavery and human trafficking, urging organisations and individuals to take the problem seriously.

Working with the West Midlands Anti-Slavery Network, students will create a thought-provoking artwork on the steps of Coventry Cathedral, pouring red sand into gaps around the paving stones. You are welcome to participate.

The artwork is part of the Red Sand Project, which has seen similar artworks created around the world, each drawing attention to modern slavery and human trafficking.

To further highlight the issue, Journalism and Media and Communications students have created a video of an interview with Coventry City Council’s Modern Slavery Lead. This will be screened in the Chapter House of the Cathedral at the same time. There will also be a screening of short films produced by Coalition to Stop Slavery and by the Red Sand Project.

Illustration students will produce artwork depicting the day’s activities, while music production students have created a piece to be played alongside the creation of the Red Sand artwork.

Coventry University Students’ Union, Coventry Cathedral, Coventry City Council and the West Midlands Anti-Slavery Network will all be working with Coventry University to raise awareness amongst students and staff and to support this event, which is open to the public.

Find out more about the Red Sand project https://redsandproject.org/.

Welsh Government
Join leading experts, practitioners and partners for the Anti-Slavery Wales Conference on 15 October 2026, in Newport or online. Hosted in partnership by the Welsh Government, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent and the University of South Wales, this year’s conference will explore the exploitation of children, including growing risks online, and housing and the home as settings for exploitation. Speakers include the Deputy First Minister and the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner. The event offers an important opportunity to share learning, strengthen collaboration and connect with others working to tackle modern slavery.

Register:
Attend in person | Attend online

Forced Labour and Child Labour Risks in TV production
15 October 2026, 11-12pm BST
Join the TV Industry Human Rights Forum for an online session to discuss forced labour and child labour risks in TV production. Human rights lead Amelia Knott will bring together emerging insights on these topics from various research projects. The session is aimed at those within TV companies to build their understanding, but all are welcome. Link to register: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/2002558188449?aff=oddtdtcreator

SEE THE STRINGS
The Coalition to Stop Slavery is delighted to be launching SEE THE STRINGS – a collaborative campaign bringing organisations across the sector together to raise awareness of the signs of human trafficking and encourage people to take action.

At the heart of the campaign are a series of short films using puppetry to make the hidden and complex reality of human trafficking visible and accessible. Created in collaboration with lived-experience leader Ilja Abbattista, the films offer a powerful and memorable way to engage new audiences while centering survivor experience.

Following a year of collaboration across the Coalition, we are delighted to invite you to the inaugural public screening, hosted by Pan Arts on Wednesday 14 October. Join us to see the films for the first time, celebrate the campaign and hear how organisations can help amplify its message.

Register here – we hope to see you there!

Trapped Behind the Scam: Understanding Trafficking for Forced Criminality
To mark Anti-Slavery Day 2026, IOM UK is hosting an online event focusing on human trafficking for forced criminality in cyber-scam centres. The event will include speakers with learned and lived experience to discuss the scale and nature of problem of trafficking for forced criminality in cyber-scam centres, the work that IOM and partners are doing in response, with a specific focus on Myanmar, and consider opportunities to strengthen prevention and protection measures. Thursday, October 15  12:45 PM – 2 PM. Register your place here.

Anti-Slavery International
To mark Anti-Slavery Week and the centenary of the 1926 Slavery Convention (commemorated on 25 September), Anti-Slavery International produced a photo exhibition, exploring the relationship between historical and modern forms of exploitation in slavery.

We hope this exhibition will inspire reflection, dialogue, and renewed commitment to ending exploitation and enslavement.

The exhibition is live at Friends House , 173-177 Euston Road, London, NW1 2BJ, from today, 13 October until 2 November 2026. It’s free to visit and available between 08:00 and 17:00, Monday to Friday.

Centenary of the Slavery Convention photo exhibition

National Crime Agency Campaign
To mark Anti-Slavery Week, the National Crime Agency (NCA) is raising public awareness of the signs of modern slavery and how to report concerns.

It is happening in communities across the UK, where you’d least expect it — in nail bars, car washes, restaurants, construction sites, and private homes. Indicators include avoiding eye contact, appearing scared, looking unkempt, or living in poor conditions. Victims might also be collected for work at unusual times, and show signs of injury, abuse and neglect.

The NCA advises if something feels wrong, trust your instincts and report 100% anonymously to Crimestoppers – or to the Police via 101.

If someone’s in immediate danger, call 999. Learn more at crimestoppersuk.org/modernslavery

The NCA also warns that criminals are increasingly using fake job adverts to trap victims. Warning signs can be vague job details, big promises of good pay, accommodation or a better life. If you know someone job-hunting, encourage caution. Report suspicious job adverts on the platform you see them.