Research has revealed that Brits are largely clueless when it comes to slavery, both past and present, with a quarter (25%) of Brits completely unaware that modern day slavery exists in the UK, and 87% of people admitting they don’t know as much about slavery as they should.
The study of 2,000 Brits commissioned to mark the Blu-ray and DVD release of 12 Years a Slave found that less than a third of people (28%) are aware of key dates in Britain’s slavery history. Dates such as when the British government abolished the slave trade in Britain were known by only 41% of respondents, while only 19% were aware that it became an offence to hold someone in slavery or servitude in the UK as recent as 2009.
Jakub Sobik for Anti Slavery International said: “Slavery is still an ever present and on-going issue in today’s society that we’re constantly striving to tackle. It’s surprising to hear that nearly a quarter of the British public are unaware slavery exists in the UK.”
When asked where the majority of their knowledge of slavery came from more than 1 in 3 people (36%) cited TV programmes and films, followed by school/education (23%) and books (12%).
A quarter of Brits (25%) said they were ONLY aware of names/events in slavery because of a TV programme or film, while 73% of people have learnt something about slavery from a TV programme or film. The TV programme and films that respondents said had taught them the most about slavery were Roots, Spartacus, Gone with the Wind, 12 Years a Slave and Django Unchained.
Director of 12 Years a Slave and patron of Anti Slavery International Steve McQueen commented: ‘’What’s apparent from this research is that films and television have an important part to play in educating and reminding people of the history of slavery. I hope that in 100 years it will not be possible for a film such as 12 Years a Slave to be made, as slavery will be completely eradicated. ”
Nine in ten people (92%) were unaware that along with Saudi Arabia, Oman, UAE, Jordan and Lebanon, the UK is one of the countries that prohibits migrant domestic workers on an Overseas Domestic Visa from changing their employers even if they are abused by their employers.
Jakub Sobik from Anti Slavery International said: “The public are also clearly surprised to hear that the UK is one of the only countries that prohibits migrant domestic workers from changing their employers, even if they are abused by their employers. It’s something we’re fighting to change.”
Despite widespread reporting that there are currently 21 million people in forced labour or slavery across the world (according to 2012 International Labour Organisation figures), less than a quarter of people were aware of this number (23%), while 9% of people believe there are only 2.1 million people in forced labour or slavery.
When asked if they thought someone who was trafficked should be prosecuted for crimes they were compelled by their traffickers to commit, 89% of people believed that they should not be prosecuted and instead the trafficker should be prosecuted.
12 Years a Slave is available now on Blu-ray and DVD, courtesy of Entertainment One.
