Members attended their regional conference in Durham at the weekend. Regional President Jane Hastings welcomed members to the conference, entitled Fears for Tears, violence against women, aimed to give members an insight into the work being done by the police, Salvation Army and Banardo’s in making a stand for the women and children being exploited through prostitution and violence. The morning session raise awareness of the work being done by the Salvation Army in making a stand for women who had been trafficked, providing them with safe accommodation and care as they escape from their forced lifestyle. Men, women and children are exploited by traffickers for sexual exploitation, forced labour, organ removal and benefit fraud. The problem is twofold, trafficking is active and many people refuse to open their eyes to accept this, this is a seriois problem and needs to be supported by actively raising awarness in your community.
Action was the key to the work being undertaken by the Banardo’s SECOS (Sexually Exploited Children on the Streets) project, which has been developed through close contacts with the police and social services to help reduce and prevent the exploitation of young people involved in prostitution in Middlesborough.
The afternoon looked at how three of the regions police authorities are dealing with the prevention of violence against women, prostitution and child exploitation.
During the day clubs and local organisations exhibited the work and projects being undertaken in their areas.
The afternoon finished with a “sleepy raffle” for Project SIerra.
