The Power to Say No - can UBI prevent trafficking?

Tuesday 12th January 2021

2.45-4.30pm (Zoom)

We all want to end human trafficking but, too often, people are exploited because they need an income to survive. Could Universal Basic Income solve this?

Universal Basic Income (UBI) has hit the headlines as a potential response to the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. By providing everybody with a basic allowance, it prevents people slipping into poverty and enables them to say no to indecent work offers. What could this mean for preventing exploitation in the UK and how can the anti-trafficking sector take a lead in designing a UBI that helps to prevent exploitation for everybody?

Join Emily Kenway, Sophie Otiende and Dr Neil Howard for a webinar hosted by the Basic Income Conversation on Tuesday 12th January, 2.45-4.30pm. We'll be hearing presentations and reflections on UBI and it's relevance for the anti-trafficking sector, followed by break-out groups to explore these questions further and share your reflections with all attendees

Emily Kenway is a former advisor to the UK's first Independent Anti Slavery Commissioner and now works freelance as a writer and anti-exploitation policy adviser. Her book, The Truth About Modern Slavery is out on 20th January 2021.

Sophie Otiende is a feminist, poet, teacher and survivor advocate of human trafficking. In June 2020, she became the first Kenyan recipient of a US Trafficking in Persons Report Hero Award for her leadership. Sophie has over ten years' experience working in development and has authored three manuals on different aspects of trafficking, coordinated victim services and developed curricula, amongst other crucial work. See more: https://www.sophieotiende.com

Dr Neil Howard is an academic at the University of Bath. His research looks at the ways in which policy-making institutions tend to act on, rather than with, the people they (cl)aim to help and argues that we need to move away from charity towards more politicised forms of solidarity. This currently involves Neil leading two large pilot projects in India and Bangladesh which combine the provision of an unconditional basic income and support for collective action to slum-dwelling communities who make their livelihoods in waste picking and garment manufacture. Neil will be sharing more about this work and how it links basic income with trafficking and exploitation.

Be part of this exciting conversation.

Sign up to RSVP and the zoom log in details will be sent to your email. We'll send the agenda at least a week beforehand.

If you have any questions, please get in touch with Michael Pugh (michael@compassonline.org.uk)

As an introduction, check out this video from OpenDemocracy