city:burnley

  • In Britain, the Slavery Next Door: In Conversation with Amy Romer
    https://prisonphotography.org/2017/02/15/in-britain-the-slavery-next-door-in-conversation-with-amy-romer

    “THE DARK FIGURE

    The abuse might be going on in your town. Victims may be under coercion in your neighbourhood. Slaves and masters may be on your street. If that sounds far-fetched take a look at Amy Romer‘s project The Dark Figure* and you’ll learn that modern day slavery is diffuse throughout Britain. In recent years, cases of contemporary slavery, forced work and forced prostitution have been detected and prosecuted in villages, towns and cities in every region of the UK.

    While modern day slavery is more prevalent in developing nations, it persists in (what we in the West prefer to call) advanced democratic nations. In December 2015, the UK Home Office estimated that there were 13,000 victims of slavery in Britain. The government referred to the 13,000 as “the dark figure” from which Romer’s documentary project derives its name.

    Romer has travelled the UK photographing the streets that her research has uncovered as sites of slavery. I encourage you to learn more about the cases the project covers here:The Dark Figure*.

    Romer wants “people to be reminded of somewhere they have lived or visited; somewhere they feel safe.” Do these places look familiar? For me these places look very familiar. I spent my formative years drinking at a pub at the bottom of Cunliffe Street, Chorley (pictured above). In recent weeks, I’ve travelled through Burnley, Batley and Blackburn. During the project, Romer discovered that two traffickers facing prosecution in Plymouth lived one street over from her.

    The Dark Figure* is not an easy project to face. It is insistent on revealing the nastiness in our midst. It holds considerable visual dissonance for British audiences particularly. The act of documenting is, for Romer, a form of witness. I wonder to what degree this work propels us to learn more about the hidden issue? I wonder if any victims of contemporary slavery would ever see it? There’s a lot to unpack here, so I was happy Romer was willing to answer a few of my questions. Scroll on for our Q&A.”

    https://soundcloud.com/multi-media-week/mmw-67

    The Dark Figure : Mapping modern slavery in Britain.
    A photographic account by Amy Romer.

    http://www.thedarkfigure.co.uk

    “Slavery is not an issue confined to history, or an issue that exists only in certain countries. It is a global problem that is still happening today, and the UK is no exception.
    In 2015, there were 3266 recorded victims of modern slavery in the UK. However, this number only counts for those that were encountered, who then testified. This, coupled with slavery’s hidden nature means that actual numbers are undoubtedly far higher.
    * Scientific Adviser for the Home Office Prof. Bernard Silverman, has estimated that there are 13,000 slaves in the UK today. This estimation is referred to as “the dark figure”.
    Modern slavery and human trafficking transcends age, gender and ethnicities, and spans across industries such as agriculture, health care and the sex trade, to name a few. Although it may be difficult to determine what problems exist where, it is certain that modern slavery exists everywhere.
    This is the dedicated website for an ongoing project that maps the immediate surrounding neighbourhoods, where victims have been held as modern slaves.”