Interfaith group commits to ending modern slavery and human trafficking

Christian and Jewish religious leaders have committed their help to ending modern slavery and human trafficking in the hand car wash industry.

The Council of Christians and Jews this week said it would work with the Clewer Initiative to publicise the charity’s Safe Car Wash app, which lets Jews and Christians report concerns.

The Clewer Initiative said there were up to 13,000 victims of modern slavery in Britain today, and many were forced to work for little or no money in hand car washes.

“Many of those hand car washes are legitimate businesses, but some of them are not,” the organisation said. “Police raids in hand car washes in towns and cities up and down the country have unearthed victims living in horrendous conditions.”

The free app is “a new tool that will enable the largest community intelligence gathering exercise ever attempted in the UK,” with hand car wash users opening the app and completing a short survey about the working conditions of the car wash.

The CCJ has also launched its own Safe Car Wash resource, and CCJ programme manager Jessica Spencer said it was incumbent on both faiths to act.

“Christians and Jews are called on in our holy scriptures to free the oppressed, to not abuse labourers, and to treat all humans as being made in God’s image,” she said.

“Only by working together can we eliminate modern slavery and create a fairer world.”

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