Modern Slavery Community Outreach

Our Founder William Henry Ashurst and his four daughters (Elizabeth, Caroline, Matilda and Emilie) were progressive advocates, who were deeply committed to social justice, particularly women's equality and the abolition of slavery. Read more about our Modern Slavery Action Plan, William Ashurst and his four daughters here.

As part of our Modern Slavery Action Plan we partner with not-for-profits in the anti-slavery movement and leverage our resources and stakeholders to supports efforts to eradicate all forms of modern slavery.

Partnership with Anti-Slavery International

We have been working with Anti-Slavery International (ASI) since 2020 to support their work to challenge and change the systems that enable modern slavery to exist, in whatever form – including human trafficking, child slavery and forced labour.

To mark Anti-Slavery Day we hosted an event in partnership with ASI, titled 'Is a hostile Immigration environment a gift to traffickers?

Matilda Ashurst Anti-Slavery Fellow Grant

The Matilda Ashurst Anti-Slavery Fellow Grant is a 10 year commitment to help support ASI's mission to eradicate slavery. To hear more about the work this grant supports, you can listen to the first in a four-part podcast series (see below) that examines the legacy of each Ashurst daughter and listen to the CEO of ASI; Jasmine O'Connor OBE, talk about the work that they do.

The Caroline Ashurst Anti-Slavery Award

The Caroline Ashurst Anti-Slavery Award supports a future joiner from Ashurst's London office to spend time supporting ASI, and a future joiner from one of Ashurst's offices in Australia to spend time supporting Anti-Slavery Australia (ASA), before joining the firm. See below for some testimonials from some of our Award recipients.

Partnership with Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance

We piloted an innovative programme with Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance (TARA), a not-for-profit organisation that work with people who have been trafficked in Scotland. Ashurst volunteers created training materials on IT and financial literacy, communication and employability skills to compliment the work that TARA have been doing with their clients. As well as upskilling, we were thrilled that all of the participants said that their confidence had improved as a result of the programme, as well as their confidence in staying safe online, managing finances and English skills.

Cara Halliday, Transitions Officer, TARA said;

"TARA are very grateful to Ashurst for facilitating a course of IT-skills sessions for some of the women we work with. We watched the women grow in confidence, develop new skills and build relationships over the course of the six weeks and it was evident that they benefitted greatly from the sessions. We look forward to working with Ashurst again in the future!"

Partnership with Sophie Hayes Foundation

In the UK, we partner with Sophie Hayes Foundation (SHF) who offer survivors of modern slavery independence and freedom through education and employability. They offer support, guidance and a unique programme that gives women survivors tangible skills needed to support each woman on their journey to independence.

Ashurst provides work shadowing placements for SHF trainees and our volunteers coach them throughout their time in the office, giving them tasks to complete and supporting them with their office skills and confidence building. We received the below feedback from two of our trainees following their work shadowing placements:

"I really enjoyed it. So Fantastic. Your knowledge and confidence grows as you are surrounded by supportive staff. I will recommend this programme to others in the same situation as me". Survivor

"You gain more knowledge. My mock interviews mean I know I can answer interview questions in the future. I'm not nervous to do this in the future. It's given me the courage now to face any panel interview." Survivor.

Partnership with Hestia

Hestia is the largest provider of modern slavery support in London and the South East. They provide safe houses in London and Kent as well as pan-London outreach services working in each London borough. Hestia work closely with The Salvation Army to deliver support to victims who have been referred into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). The NRM is a national framework that ensure victims of modern slavery are identified and receive appropriate support. This year, we supported their annual art and photography exhibition curated by survivors who have participated in 'Art is Freedom' run by The Phoenix Project which enables participants to share their stories through a creative outlet by taking part in a summer programme of art and photography workshops, learning new skills and expressing their identities through the work they create. Some examples of the artwork are included below: