The Catholic Church in England and Wales, with its global network, has long stood at the forefront of the movement against human trafficking and modern slavery.
In 2014, the former President of the Bishops’ Conference, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, established the Santa Marta Group (SMG) with the encouragement of Pope Francis. Its main aim was to take systemic international action to address the scourge of human trafficking.
Recognising the international operation of traffickers, the Santa Marta Group identified a need for international co-operation, and worked to foster collaboration between the Catholic Church, governments, NGOs, and law enforcement. It also worked with businesses and governments to identify where businesses were profiting from trafficking in order to build a consensus for ‘no tainted money’ – cutting off profit as a key driver of trafficking.
Over the past few years, the Santa Marta Group turned its expertise towards building understanding of the presence of trafficking in the UK through the Catholic community, working with the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW) and the Caritas Social Action Network (CSAN).
Recently, the SMG announced that it will be ending its inspiring work, but CSAN and the Bishops’ Conference will be building on this work domestically to nurture a growing movement against human trafficking and modern slavery.
This work will be rooted in the rich tradition of Catholic Social Teaching and its foundational principle of the intrinsic dignity of every human, made in the image and likeness of God.
The women, and men, who speak in these films have been ruthlessly exploited by criminals involved in human trafficking. They show great courage and bravery to give us a valuable insight into the damage caused by these violent, degrading crimes.
Caritas Bakhita House is a safe house for women who have been trafficked, enslaved or exploited. Opened in 2015, it offers a safe environment and tailored, trauma-informed support to help guests begin their journey of recovery.
On 8 February, feast of St Bakhita, Catholics are encouraged to pray for all those affected by the crimes of modern slavery and human trafficking, and the people that work to eradicate this crime.
In 2024, we held a webinar to reflect on how modern slavery and human trafficking touches UK society and how we can work to eliminate it from our communities.
St Josephine Bakhita, also known as ‘Mother Moretta’ (our Black Mother) bore 144 physical scars throughout her life which were received after she was kidnapped at the age of nine and sold into slavery.
Supported by our Bishops' Conference, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria is hosting a conference with participating Catholic Bishops' Conferences across Africa to examine the current challenges around human trafficking.
The Santa Marta Group was an alliance of international police chiefs and bishops from around the world working together with civil society to eradicate human trafficking and modern day slavery.
